https://www.conservativebc.ca/powering_bc
Lifting the prohibition on nuclear power research and generation
A September 2024 Ipsos poll found that nearly 60% of BC residents are open to nuclear power, but the NDP government has refused to update outdated legislation which prohibits nuclear from even being considered in our energy mix.
The Conservative Party of BC will review all sources of electricity generation, including nuclear, with a goal to map out BC’s future energy needs for decades to come.
Globally, nuclear energy already provides nearly 1/5th of electricity in advanced economies. And the promising new technology of small modular reactors (SMRs) has the potential to provide clean and reliable energy with less construction time, less land consumption, lower costs, and vastly reduced ecological footprint compared to larger projects.
Following the international scientific consensus that nuclear is one of the very few ways to reliably produce clean electricity at the scale needed to sustain modern living standards, the Conservative Party of BC will:
- Amend the Clean Energy Act to allow for nuclear power in the province’s energy mix.
- Put safety first by conducting a comprehensive reviewof small modular reactor (SMR) seismic hazard resilience.
- Expand the British Columbia Energy Regulator’s mandate to include nuclear power.
- Become a partner in Canada’s Small Modular Reactor Action Plan alongside Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon, Ontario, New Brunswick and PEI.
- Commit to having a small modular reactor operating by 2035 – if and only if the business case makes sense, seismic safety is addressed, and the idea has the confidence of the public.
Ontario, New Brunswick, and Saskatchewan already have small modular reactor (SMR) project plans underway. SMR can be used for on-grid power generation, heavy industry, and in remote communities that currently rely heavily on diesel.