The Government of Alberta has started a process towards nuclear power generation in the province, and hopefully, a chain reaction towards economic prosperity.

Premier Danielle Smith, flanked by Minister of Affordability and Utilities Nathan Neudorf, Parliamentary Secretary of Affordability and Utilities Chantelle de Jonge, and George Christidis, CEO of the Canadian Nuclear Association, announced the move on Aug. 25.

Premier Smith said the development of nuclear power in the province would be driven by private industry.

“What we’ve seen in the past is that the oil sands companies have paid to put their own power generation on their site, and if they end up generating surplus power, then they sell it back to the grid. So, that may also be the model,” she said.

“At the moment, we haven’t seen a need for us to establish a Crown corporation like they do in every other jurisdiction in Canada. We are prepared to do that if we have to, if we cannot get enough base load—we indicated that in the legislature—but we want to see the private market work.”

As to whether Calgarians would eventually see a nuclear power plant in the city, Premier Smith said that would be left up to Enmax.

In a response from Enmax to questions posed on whether nuclear power was being considered for Calgary by LWC, the answer was a blunt no.

“We are not evaluating nuclear power investments at this time,” said the corporation.

The Premier said that other municipalities had expressed interest in having nuclear plants within their borders.

“I know that there’s at least another couple of municipalities who’ve expressed an interest as well, including Lloydminster. Now that we’ve started this, we’ll find out where those areas are, where they would like to host an installation like this, the uses for it, as well as some of the concerns people have,” she said.

She said that exploring nuclear power was long overdue in the province, and that the province had already signed agreements with Saskatchewan and Ontario on developing nuclear energy and supply chains.

“Frankly, there’s a lot to like about nuclear. It’s efficient, low-cost in the long run, and long-lasting. Those are points in its favour, but two qualities in particular set nuclear apart from other energy sources. It’s almost completely emissions-free, and it’s incredibly reliable, producing abundant base load power, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” she said.

“That means we’d be able to expand our economy with dependable, scalable, non-emitting power, and it’s hard to argue with a proposition like that.”

However, the Premier did acknowledge that there may be Albertans opposed to nuclear power, and that Albertans would have a chance to weigh in on the issue until Sept. 25.

That engagement will also consist of a panel that will deliver a report to Minister Neudorf in 2026 on the feasibility of nuclear power generation in the province.

“The results of the survey will help inform future engagement activities that will take place over the course of the next year. These, of course, will be led by the nuclear energy engagement and advisory panel, which we will use the information feedback gathered to put together recommendations on how we can enable nuclear energy within our province, and ultimately help us create a nuclear energy roadmap,” said Minister Neudorf.

That panel will consist of former MLA turned Senior Vice President of Counsel Public Affairs, Darren Bilious, former ENMAX Vice President of Public Policy, Government Relations, and Compliance and now principle for Boston Edge Strategies Tim Boston, CEO of the Indian Resource Council of Canada and first Indigenous Governor of the Canadian Energy Association, Stephen Buffalo, along with University of Calgary professors Dr. Rudiger Tscherning and Dr. Harrie Vredenburg.

Parliamentary Secretary de Jonge is set to chair the panel.

The Alberta lobbyist registry showed that Tim Boston was registered as a lobbyist in March of this year, for the Canadian Nuclear Association. That engagement document disclosed that the focus was on providing grid power applications of nuclear power, and small and medium-sized nuclear reactors for oil and gas operations.

In a response to questions about whether being registered as a lobbyist posed a conflict of interest, the Ministry of Affordability and Utilities said they had full confidence in Boston’s expertise to help Albertans.

“The Canadian Nuclear Association (CNA) is a non-profit with a mandate to educate Canadians on nuclear energy. We assembled an expert panel with a huge cross-section of perspectives and Tim Boston has extensive power sector experience that will be valuable in the engagement process,” said the Ministry office.

“As a senior advisor to the CNA, Tim Boston is registered as a lobbyist only because of Alberta’s strict lobbying rules to maintain transparency. His role with the CNA focuses on providing strategic advice on the Alberta market, political landscape and how environmental regulations impact them.”