On Sunday, August 2, 2026, Ontario announced that its new small modular reactors (SMRs) will depend on uranium that is enriched and fabricated outside Canada. The decision marks a clear break from the country’s traditional practice of using a wholly domestic supply chain for nuclear fuel, a practice that has defined Canada’s nuclear industry for decades.
The Ontario project is currently under construction, and several other provinces have disclosed plans to develop SMR facilities of their own. All of the announced projects share a common requirement: the fuel they will use must be processed abroad. The foreign enrichment and fabrication step is essential for the SMRs, which differ in design and fuel specifications from the larger Candu reactors that have been built across Canada since the 1960s.
Historically, Canada’s nuclear power strategy centered on the Candu reactor, a technology that was deliberately engineered to run on uranium sourced and processed within the country. This approach was intended to eliminate reliance on external suppliers and to support a fully Canadian fuel cycle. Over the years, the domestic supply chain included mining, conversion, enrichment, and fuel fabrication, all managed by Canadian firms.
The shift to imported uranium for SMRs reflects the technical and economic realities of the new reactor designs. While the Candu system could use Canadian‑produced fuel, the SMR designs selected by Ontario and other provinces require fuel characteristics that are not presently produced domestically. As a result, the provinces will source enriched uranium and fabricated fuel assemblies from overseas suppliers.
The move signals a notable change in Canada’s nuclear energy landscape, introducing a reliance on foreign fuel processing for the next generation of reactors. It also underscores the evolving nature of the industry as provinces seek to expand clean energy capacity through SMR technology, even as they move away from the wholly Canadian supply chain that characterized earlier nuclear projects.