Ottawa and Ontario are investing $3 billion in the Darlington New Nuclear Project, a small nuclear reactor initiative in the Greater Toronto Area. Prime Minister Mark Carney fast-tracked this project in September, deeming it one of five major projects of national interest, without clearly defining “national interest.”

On Thursday, the federal government pledged $2 billion, and provincial government $1 billion, for four small modular reactors (SMRs) in Bowmanville, Ontario.

“We’re protecting Ontario by supporting good-paying, long-term jobs for Ontario workers and building the energy infrastructure — including both SMRs and new, large-scale nuclear — needed to make Ontario an energy superpower,” Ford said in an October 23 statement.

Carney lauded the “generational investment,” making Canada the first G7 nation with this new nuclear reactor, but omitted his financial holdings in corporations pursuing the technology.

Mark Carney evades a question about any potential conflicts of interest he might have, saying his assets are now in a blind trust, which means, "by definition" he doesn't "know the assets." pic.twitter.com/X4ImyXZuHZ

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) March 14, 2025

Carney's financial disclosures require him to be screened from entities like Westinghouse Electric Company, whose technology powers nearly half of the world's operating nuclear reactors.

On March 17, Carney stated he complied with all conflict of interest rules by transferring stock to a blind trust, asserting, “I have stood up for Canada. I have left my roles in the private sector at a time of crisis for our country. I am complying with all the rules.”

Cameco (49% owner of Westinghouse and a nuclear uranium supplier) lobbied Carney on March 19, April 2, and June 27 (post-election). The Investigative Journalism Foundation reports nine companies with prime ministerial financial interests lobbied his office.

Cameco, which owns 49% of Westinghouse, provides uranium for nuclear energy, and lobbied Carney on March 19, April 2, and June 27 (post-election).

READ MORE: https://t.co/tkj3nSEigq pic.twitter.com/f0Hcc1O2Z2

— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) August 21, 2025

Meanwhile, Brookfield Renewable Partners, who holds a 51% majority stake in Westinghouse, received $27.2 million in 2022 for an SMR prototype.

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Ethics filings showed Carney kept shares and nearly $10 million in unexercised stock options before his January 16 Liberal Party leadership bid. 

Carney, the former Brookfield chair, praised Westinghouse on April 16 during the election campaign. 

Mark Carney backs another Brookfield investment — this time, Westinghouse Nuclear. pic.twitter.com/ibgA2mmLi1

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) April 17, 2025

On the Burlington project, the PMO announced the federal government would acquire a 15% stake and Ontario 7.5% in the Ontario Power Generation-operated project, with OPG remaining the majority owner.

Four SMRs, costing nearly $21 billion, will produce 1,200 megawatts for 1.2 million homes. The first reactor is due by 2029, connecting to the grid in 2030.

Should the project be completed, the Darlington site will become the first place in the world to build GE Hitachi's BWRX-300, a technology similar to Westinghouse's AP300.

The project is expected to generate 3,700 annual jobs and 18,000 construction jobs, contributing over $38 billion to Canada's GDP in 65 years.

Westinghouse, who has an office in Burlington, has not publicly commented on the Burlington SMRs. Rebel News contacted the company but received no response by publication.

Today Westinghouse launched the AP300™ Small Modular Reactor, the only #SMR based on an operating and advanced nuclear plant, our AP1000® reactor. A 300-MWe PWR, the AP300 SMR is an industry game-changer. Learn more: https://t.co/TnwvVeTNRr #SMR2023 #AP300 #nuclearenergy pic.twitter.com/IdDctpCBIy

— Westinghouse Nuclear (@WECNuclear) May 4, 2023

An iPolitics column, paid for by Westinghouse, states the company has “the only proven and available technology that can bring nuclear energy to the grid within the decade.”

It contends that deploying AP1000 units, or pressurized water reactors, would provide Ontario’s supply chain with “increased access to a global market for large-scale nuclear.”

The AP300 SMR, a smaller version of the AP1000, offers the same technological benefits, according to the company’s website. It aims to improve community energy and support a cleaner, more secure, and flexible energy grid, while building on new baseload generation.

PM Carney admits his Building Canada Act, which is supposed to streamline national unity projects, "is only a way of starting a conversation and starting a process."

It "could" enable Canada to do "big things to transform our national economy," he adds. pic.twitter.com/CXGgaXsUIT

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) July 17, 2025

Carney announced on September 11 that the Bowmanville reactors were one of five “nation-building” projects to address internal unrest. While reportedly fast-tracked under Bill C-5, the Building Canada Act, passed June 26, Blacklock’s confirmed this was a pre-existing project.

The reactors already met regulatory milestones after extensive engagement with First Nations, provincial governments, local authorities, proponents, and stakeholders, according to a cabinet backgrounder.

“In some cases, they are at the last stage of regulatory approvals,” Carney told reporters at the time.

OPG received provincial approval in May to begin construction and was licensed by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission in April.

By 2023, the federal government had committed $215 million in subsidies and the Canada Infrastructure Bank approved $970 million in loans, plus undisclosed tax credits, for SMR research and development.