Report supports leaning into nuclear power, but province won’t commit

Posted on July 2, 2026 by Vauxhall Advance

By Zoe Mason
Southern Alberta Newspapers

Results of a province-wide public engagement show Albertans are in favour of nuclear power, but have persisting questions about safety and waste.

“The final report confirms what we already suspected. Albertans are interested and have broad support for nuclear energy in our province,” said Minister of Utilities and Affordability Nathan Neudorf at a recent press conference.

The report showed that 67 per cent of Albertans polled strongly support the proposal to add nuclear to the province’s energy mix.

A further 81 per cent agreed the introduction of nuclear energy would improve reliability in the province’s grid.

The report featured results of two province-wide public surveys, including an initial survey polling 4,443 respondents and a second survey polling an additional 1,472 Albertans.

It also included feedback received through in-person public sessions, meetings with more than 30 Indigenous communities and meetings with 51 municipal representatives.

“We did not use the word consultation at all in our process, because it’s not consultation. It’s the beginning of an engagement and the beginning of a conversation,” said Neudorf.

A proposal for a small modular reactor project near Peace River in the province’s north is in the early stages of regulatory review. Should that advance, Neudorf says his government is committed to a formal consultation process.

Still, nuclear power in Alberta is a long way off. Neudorf says it is at least 10 years before any nuclear project could be brought online.

Neudorf says the new report will inform creation of a provincial nuclear energy roadmap by early 2027. Neudorf says it should include a framework for legislation and regulation to provide clarity to industry partners.

In the meantime, engagement identified a number of questions Albertans want answered, mainly regarding the management of nuclear waste.

Forty-six per cent of respondents expressed concern about safety risks associated with nuclear energy in Alberta. Sixty-three per cent of respondents identified long-term storage of nuclear waste as their top concern. Where nuclear waste would be stored was listed as the top concern for 60 per cent of respondents.

In 2008, a previous public engagement asking Albertans whether the province should consider moving forward with nuclear ended with the province shelving the proposal. Neudorf says things are different this time around.

“The global economy has changed, and the amount of interest globally for nuclear development is many times what it was before,” he said.

He says the proposed nuclear project would receive no taxpayer funding and will be developed entirely by private industry.

Neudorf says a conventional nuclear facility can employ between 2,500 and 3,500 people with high-paying jobs.

Twenty-six per cent of respondents said jobs and local economic impact were an important benefit from nuclear energy development.

Committee member Deron Bilous says exploring nuclear power in the province is a rare area of agreement across party lines.

Bilous, a former NDP MLA, says the UCP, NDP and federal Liberals are aligned about potential benefits of pursuing nuclear energy in the province.

“There’s a great area of collaboration, understanding and agreement,” he said. “Obviously there’s lots of nuance on how, what, when and where, but we’re working through all of those questions.”

Tim Weis, senior director of industrial decarbonization at the Pembina Institute, says while nuclear may have a place in Alberta’s energy future, UCP policy is obstructing more affordable and accessible options right now.

“Large amounts of low-cost wind and solar power is being wasted because of a failure to upgrade sufficient transmission lines in southern Alberta. Even on very windy or sunny days, Albertans are missing out on affordable energy because the electricity can’t get to where it needs to be used,” he said in a statement.

Weis says nuclear energy remains some of the most expensive electricity, with costs 2-3 times higher than wind, solar and batteries.