Natural Resources Committee on May 5th, 2026

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Duguid]

This will be part of the public record that can be used. As Monsieur Simard mentioned, we welcome briefs. We welcome additional data information, so don't be shy about providing that to the committee. With that, I thank you for your testimony.

Colleagues, we're going to pause while we welcome the next witness. We're suspended.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Duguid]

Okay, we are back in session. We'll resume the meeting.

Welcome to our witness from Candu Energy Inc., an AtkinsRéalis company, Todd Smith, vice-president, marketing and business development.

We've conducted the mandatory witness onboarding test.

It's nice to see you, Mr. Smith. Welcome.

I think you were in the room when I mentioned the previous procedural issues.

Please wait until I recognize you by name before speaking. All comments shall be addressed through the chair.

You will have five minutes for your opening remarks, and then we'll open the floor to questions and comments from colleagues.

Mr. Smith, you have the floor.

[Todd Smith, Vice-President, Marketing and Business Development, Candu Energy Inc., An AtkinsRéalis Company]

Good afternoon, Chair, and honourable members of the committee.

I'm Todd Smith, VP, marketing and business development, at Candu Energy, Inc., an AtkinsRéalis company. I focus exclusively on international markets for new CANDU builds. Thanks for the opportunity to speak with you here today about export opportunities for Canada's CANDU nuclear reactor technology, particularly in the context of rapidly growing global energy demand and opportunities for new CANDUs here at home.

Globally, the dominant energy challenge isn't just climate ambition; it's energy security issues caused by global conflicts and geopolitical threats, as well as rising electricity demand, affordability and scale. Population growth, industrialization, electrification, digital infrastructure and AI are driving power requirements to levels that many countries aren't equipped to meet with their existing systems. In many regions, electricity demand is forecast to grow by 50% to 100% within two decades. This creates a clear and time-sensitive opportunity for Canada's nuclear technology, CANDU.

There are four questions I want to answer for you today.

The first one is, why nuclear and why CANDU? Nuclear energy remains one of the very few technologies capable of delivering large-scale 24-7 power over multiple generations. CANDU reactors are the most unique of the six large-scale technologies on offer globally today. CANDU was designed at Chalk River, Ontario, back in the 1960s by scientists and engineers with energy security and fuel security top of mind, and it's still Canadian intellectual property today. CANDU is the only reactor that uses natural uranium for fuel, reducing reliance on enrichment infrastructure and geopolitically sensitive supply chains. In fact, it's the number one reason countries like Poland and Turkey are considering CANDU today.

CANDU has the highest capacity factors globally. CANDU units routinely operate above 90%. The top reactor in the world, with a lifetime capacity factor of almost 94% of its nameplate, is Cernavoda 2. That's a CANDU reactor in Romania.

CANDU reactors are well suited for countries such as the Philippines and other countries across ASEAN, whose grids are growing but not yet at the scale of the larger economies. CANDUs have a long operating life, at up to 100 years with refurbishments, providing decades of predictable power and price stability for the regions that they operate in.

CANDU has the unique distinction, as well, of being built on time and on budget. The Darlington refurbishment is the latest example of that performance. Earlier this year, the last of the four CANDU units was returned to service ahead of schedule and under budget by $150 million.

The second question I wanted to address is, what markets align with CANDU?

Several regions show strong alignment between rising demand and CANDU's strengths, such as central and eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. Canada's reputation as a reliable, non-politicized supplier is a decisive advantage in the long-term infrastructure decisions in these jurisdictions.

The third question is, what is the economic value for Canada?

CANDU exports are among the highest-value industrial exports Canada can offer. Almost 100,000 people are employed in Canada's CANDU nuclear sector. With each CANDU contract signed at home and internationally, the number of highly skilled, well-paid jobs will grow in Canada's tier one nuclear ecosystem.

Each CANDU built abroad is the start of a new international relationship, with multidecade service and fuel contracts following the initial construction. This is the experience in South Korea, Argentina, Romania and China, where CANDUs were built over 30 years ago.

Finally, the fourth question is, what enables success?

Canadian industry has the capability. What matters now is national alignment. Key enablers with the Government of Canada must include government-to-government engagement, competitive financing frameworks and long-term policy consistency. Nuclear projects begin with state-level confidence. Canada's expertise in safety, regulation and non-proliferation is a strategic asset.

In closing, honourable members, global electricity demand is rising faster than at any point since the postwar industrial expansion. Canada's CANDU technology is uniquely positioned to answer that question at home, in Ontario, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and Alberta, and abroad in places such as Poland, Turkey and across the South Pacific. With focused support, CANDU can strengthen global energy systems while delivering enduring economic and strategic benefits to Canada.

Thank you. I look forward to your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Duguid]

Thank you, Mr. Smith.

We're going to move on to our first round of questions. We'll start with Mr. Tochor for six minutes.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Mr. Smith, for being here today.

I understand that there's a new plant being built in Romania and that there are plans for plants in Turkey. Could you unpack a bit more about the supply chain that would come from Canada if those two projects were to fully ramp up?

[Todd Smith]

Yes. There are great opportunities for the Canadian supply chain.

Romania is currently in the FID position. We're looking toward reaching the final investment decision at Cernavoda 3 and 4. Of course, a decision was made in Romania a number of years back to build Cernavoda 1 and 2. Cernavoda 1 is now due to be refurbished, and work is under way at Candu to refurbish that plant for another 30 to 35 years. As mentioned, Cernavoda 2 is the top operating plant of the 440 nuclear plants operating around the globe today, with a capacity factor of over 94%.

Canada's supply chain is going to benefit massively. The components for these plants are largely going to come from Canada. For each refurbishment that happens, about 70% of the work will come back to Canada. That will be the case with Cernavoda 1, when we start our work there. For Cernavoda 3 and 4, we could see 70% of the components coming from Canada, which means that our supply chain, which is already the envy of many nations around the world, will grow.

With the policy certainty that comes from having the final investment decision—I hope we'll reach it later this year—there will be an opportunity for our supply chain partners, such as BWXT, Velan, L3Harris and many others in our supply chain to scale up and create even more jobs to meet the demand that's going to come from the Romania project.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

That's fabulous. It could make Canada truly an energy superpower if these things come together.

You talked about financing and the importance of such. I'm old enough to remember when this government referred to nuclear as a “sin stock”. What would be effective financing options that this government should consider in Romania 3 and 4 and/or Turkey?

[Todd Smith]

I would say that hearts and minds have changed in Ottawa when it comes to nuclear. Certainly, there is an understanding that if countries are going to meet not only their net zero targets but also the massive increases in electricity that are needed, there has to be a full team Canada approach for us to win these contracts in jurisdiction.

When it comes to financing specifically, Export Development Canada was there for every previous international build in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Export Development Canada is there for the Romania project as well. We've seen the announcements coming from EDC, and certainly EDC has been engaged in the project we're currently seeking in Poland. EDC has been engaged in the Turkey bid also.

We're actively engaged in a competition in those two countries as we work to the final investment decision in Romania. It's imperative, because with the five other actors, the technologies we see are largely supported by their sovereign as well, be it the Russians, the Chinese, certainly the U.S., the Koreans or the French. It really is a national strategy that surrounds that, which includes financing for these projects.

In each case in which EDC has been part of a build in a country in the past, be it South Korea, China or Romania, the debt that has gone into the project from EDC has been repaid in a very timely fashion as the reactor comes on board, which is a net benefit to taxpayers here in Ontario and in Canada.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

Speaking of reactors, and playing up to a bit of your past experience as natural resources minister in Ontario, there's going to be a decision made by the national government. It will be forced into making a decision over heavy water versus enrichment.

Thinking back to your days and your knowledge when the SMRs came online in Ontario, or the decision that was made that uranium needs to be enriched if we are going to be this energy superpower, we'll have to enrich uranium in Canada and be a sovereign country and/or carry on with CANDU, but we're also going to need heavy water production. With your experience, which one would be the easier of the two to complete?

[Todd Smith]

Definitely, talks are already under way with different countries around the world, and even here in Canada, to get a heavy water supply ready.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

Would we stand that up in Canada?

[Todd Smith]

Could we get a heavy water supply in Canada? It would mean jobs for Canadians and a reliable place to have the heavy water plant. Those negotiations are occurring now with my team at AtkinsRéalis.

Certainly, it's most important that we take advantage of the technology we built and created. Engineers, 60 years ago, had the foresight to build a reactor that uses natural uranium. You don't have to rely on another country to enrich your uranium. The natural supply of uranium is abundant in your province of Saskatchewan and a great boon to the economy of Saskatchewan.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

I'll circle back to the enrichment side. For the SMRs that are being built, where do you think that enrichment should take place?

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Duguid]

Give a quick answer, please.

[Todd Smith]

That will have to come from another jurisdiction.

Currently, the largest jurisdiction, when it comes to enrichment, is Russia. The U.K. and U.S. are relying on Russian enriched fuel to power their nuclear fleet at this moment.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Duguid]

Thank you, both.

Mr. Guay, you have six minutes.

[Claude Guay, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

Mr. Smith, thank you very much for being with us today. It is much appreciated.

There is talk about the federal government having an upcoming nuclear strategy. What would you hope to see in that strategy?

[Todd Smith]

Yes, we are anticipating this strategy. We believe it's very important for the economy here in Canada, as well as for energy security.

Certainly, the energy ministers in the various provinces would want to make the decision when it comes to a technology. Are there other ways the federal government can help? Absolutely. It can do so when it comes to a commitment to finance these projects, through either EDC or some other mechanism. We've seen money come from the CIB as well. The details of the new wealth fund that has been created and is currently under way here in Ottawa remain to be seen.

What we're facing internationally.... Most of my work lies in different countries. The five other countries I mentioned are providing seed funding to begin prefeasibility work at sites, be they across central and eastern Europe or in the ASEAN region—the Association of Southeast Asian Nations—in such places as the Philippines and Indonesia.

As the Canadian government is the owner of the Canadian CANDU technology through AECL, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, it's very important that the federal government is there as well. We at AtkinsRéalis and Candu Energy are promoting CANDU around the world. We've seen this of late, whether it's in Poland or other jurisdictions. Your counterparts with the federal government, I believe, understand that there is a market out there. There's a significant market in which CANDUs can be exported. The arm-in-arm, team Canada approach is very important.

I understand the Prime Minister, on various occasions, speaks in bilaterals with other national leaders. He has spoken about our Canadian expertise in nuclear technology, and about CANDU. He is very supportive of the idea of building CANDUs abroad for a couple of reasons. One, it makes sense for our economy. Two, it makes sense to forge these relationships with the so-called middle powers. These relationships aren't just about building a plant and leaving. The relationships that occur when you build a CANDU plant in a jurisdiction are for 80 to 100 years, as Candu Energy and AtkinsRéalis continue to service those plants over many decades. Those bilateral relationships are very important.

[Claude Guay, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

Mr. Smith, AtkinsRéalis is also involved in SMR investment and efforts.

As it relates to our systems, technology and expertise, can you help me understand the export opportunities? Where is Canada in the SMR space? Maybe you could compare and contrast. We are probably more familiar with traditional large CANDU installs than SMRs.

Do you want to educate us on that?

[Todd Smith]

AtkinsRéalis—and Candu—is the OEM for the CANDU technology. We're actively marketing the CANDU technology globally on behalf of the Government of Canada.

When it comes to the small modular reactor space, yes, we are an engineering firm of 42,000 people that's been based in downtown Montreal for over 115 years now. It's an engineering firm that has nuclear expertise globally. We are the architect engineer and the project engineer on behalf of OPG and GEH at the SMR that's currently under construction at the Darlington new nuclear site here in Ontario.

We're also, through our U.K. office, working with Rolls-Royce and the small modular reactor in the U.K. South of the border, we've been working with X-energy. We've been working with Natrium as well, which is the Bill Gates reactor. We have global expertise, and each of our offices around the world is working on small modular reactors.

When it comes to the BWRX-300 small modular reactor from GVH that's being built in Ontario right now, certainly when that reactor gets exported globally there will be a benefit to Ontario and there will be a benefit to Canada, but it's nowhere near the benefit that will come from building CANDUs abroad. We talked about some of the numbers. Building, let's say, a stand-alone CANDU unit in an international jurisdiction will have a massive multi-billion-dollar impact on GDP here in Canada. Yes, there will be an impact from the SMR, but that technology and IP rests in the United States. It will be subject to export controls and all of those things.

There is one Canadian technology, and that's the CANDU reactor. If we're looking to get the biggest bang for the buck and see the biggest impact in our country, then there's no question that CANDU, with 96% of its components being manufactured in Canada, will have a massive impact. I'm glad to see that the federal government understands that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Duguid]

Thank you both.

Mr. Simard, you have the floor for six minutes.

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Smith, is the interpretation working?

[Todd Smith]

Just a moment. I'll put on the earpiece.

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

I'll give you time to do so, yes. The chair will then start the clock, I'm sure.

Technically, you should be able to hear the interpreters. The clerk will lend you a hand. The voice of an interpreter is always more interesting than the voice of a guy from the regions.

[Todd Smith]

There we go. Thank you.