Canada’s nuclear industry is entering a period of expansion. New nuclear projects could create demand across a wide range of goods and services for manufacturers, fabricators, engineering firms, and other industrial suppliers. Participation comes with differing expectations around quality assurance, documentation, traceability, and supplier qualification.
Atlas Industries attended an Organization of Canadian Nuclear Industries (OCNI) event at Bruce Power in Ontario to learn more about those opportunities and what they could mean for Saskatchewan industry. Bruce Power generates roughly one-third of Ontario’s electricity, and the event offered a close look at both nuclear generation and the industrial network supporting it.
The conversation is becoming increasingly relevant for Saskatchewan manufacturers.
Canada is Preparing for Nuclear Growth
Canada already has an established nuclear industry and a domestic supply chain of more than 250 companies involved in manufacturing, operations, research, and engineering.
The federal government’s current Nuclear Energy Strategy for Canada identifies expansion of the domestic nuclear supply chain as part of its plans for new large reactors and small modular reactors (SMRs). Among its priorities is assessing supply-chain requirements for new builds, including heavy forgings and nuclear-grade materials.
Saskatchewan recently provided a detailed plan for nuclear development. The province’s updated energy strategy sets a goal of at least 2,600 MW of nuclear generation by 2050. Planning includes more than 2,000 MW of potential large-reactor generation in northwest Saskatchewan, with first power targeted for 2042, alongside continued SMR development near Estevan with a goal of at least 600 MW at the Rafferty site. These projects remain subject to further siting, regulatory, commercial, and investment decisions.
For a province already central to Canada’s uranium industry, those developments broaden the nuclear conversation from resource extraction into power generation, research, workforce development, and industrial supply.
Saskatchewan is Building Nuclear Capacity
Preparing for nuclear development takes years, particularly when a region is developing a new workforce and supplier base. Saskatchewan organizations have already begun that work.
The Saskatchewan Industrial and Mining Suppliers Association (SIMSA) and other provincial organizations are working to support supply-chain readiness. The updated nuclear plan identifies workforce development, supply-chain readiness, and industry partnerships as priorities, including the supplier relationships and quality assurance expertise future projects will require.
The province is investing in nuclear research and training. The Government of Saskatchewan, through SaskPower, committed $6.3 million over six years to establish four nuclear research chairs at Saskatchewan post-secondary institutions. Their work will support nuclear science, engineering, workforce development, and potential nuclear deployment in the province.
SaskPower has also committed $4 million toward an SMR Safety, Licensing, and Testing Centre at the University of Regina, including two test loops designed to support research and training.
Early preparation gives Saskatchewan manufacturers time to determine where their existing capabilities align with nuclear procurement and where additional qualifications, systems, or training may be necessary.
Nuclear Projects Rely on a Larger Supply Chain
Nuclear power projects involve more than the companies designing and manufacturing the reactor itself.
Saskatchewan’s updated nuclear plan specifically notes manufacturing, construction, engineering, skilled trades, procurement, and professional services as areas that could see long-term opportunities as nuclear development proceeds.
OCNI emphasizes opportunities extend through multiple tiers of the nuclear supply chain, from utilities and major contractors to the companies supplying them, broadening the potential entry points for fabrication shops looking to enter the sector.
Metal fabrication can form part of that network, but the requirements depend on what is being supplied and where it will be used.
A fabricator capable of producing a complex industrial component may already have relevant equipment, skilled tradespeople, welding experience, inspection processes, and quality systems. Entering nuclear work introduces another layer of requirements around how the work is controlled, verified, and documented. Understanding those requirements is a key part of determining where an existing fabrication business can fit.
The Importance of Quality Systems
Canada’s nuclear industry operates within an extensive regulatory and quality framework. Supplier requirements vary according to the component, service, customer, and safety significance of the work.
The CSA N299 series sets quality assurance requirements for suppliers providing items and services to nuclear power plants. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission identifies N299 as one of the standards used to support nuclear supply-chain management, with requirements passed down through contracts from licensees to suppliers.
OCNI’s Roadmap to Nuclear Supplier Qualification emphasizes that becoming a qualified nuclear supplier can require significant changes even for companies already operating under an ISO 9001 quality management system. Qualification may involve implementing an accepted nuclear quality assurance or management system and demonstrating those processes are consistently followed.
Requirements can extend into areas familiar to industrial fabricators, but with greater levels of control and documentation. Material traceability may require records that follow material through procurement, fabrication, inspection, and delivery. Welding requirements can include specific procedures and personnel qualifications. Inspection and dimensional verification may need documented evidence showing that specified requirements were met.
Document control, change management, supplier oversight, and the handling of non-conforming work become significant parts of the manufacturing process. The physical components and records showing how it was produced are crucial.
Existing Industrial Experience Provides a Foundation
Saskatchewan has a long history of supporting mining, resource extraction, energy, and heavy industry. Atlas has spent more than 50 years working in custom metal fabrication, including projects for the mining sector and other demanding industrial applications.
Those capabilities can provide a foundation for exploring nuclear supply-chain opportunities, particularly where projects require engineered fabrication, forming, welding, inspection, and documented quality processes.
Nuclear supplier qualification, however, is specific to the work being performed and the requirements established by the customer. Existing industrial experience should therefore be viewed as a starting point rather than an automatic qualification for nuclear projects.
OCNI has been working directly on this transition through initiatives designed to help companies understand nuclear supplier requirements. Its Ready4SMR program has supported suppliers in Saskatchewan and other provinces as they explore nuclear opportunities and the path toward qualification.
Supply-Chain Readiness
Large infrastructure projects develop over long timelines. SaskPower notes that its first SMR remains in the planning phase, with several years of project development, licensing, regulatory work, and consultation required before a final investment decision.
Supplier preparation can follow a similarly long runway. Manufacturers considering nuclear work need to understand the standards that may apply, the quality systems customers expect, the qualifications required for specific work, and the procurement structures through which contracts are awarded.
Relationships take time to build. Industry organizations, utilities, reactor vendors, engineering firms, Tier 1 suppliers, and regional industry groups play roles in developing the supply chain.
Atlas’s visit to the OCNI event at Bruce Power allowed us to see an established Canadian nuclear industry partner firsthand and examine the opportunity from a Saskatchewan manufacturing perspective.
Where Does Saskatchewan Manufacturing Fit?
Saskatchewan manufacturers have valuable experience in mining, energy, heavy fabrication, and other demanding industrial sectors. The opportunity now is to understand how those capabilities align with nuclear supply-chain requirements and where additional qualifications or systems may be needed.
Atlas is continuing that work as Saskatchewan moves into the next stage of nuclear planning. We’re looking closely at where our existing fabrication, forming, welding, and quality capabilities could support future projects and the next stages of supplier readiness.
Involved in nuclear development, procurement, engineering, or supply-chain planning in Saskatchewan? Get in touch with Atlas Industries to discuss where our capabilities may fit.
FAQs: Nuclear Growth and Canadian Manufacturing
What is required to become a nuclear supplier in Canada?
Requirements depend on the type of work, component, customer, and role within the nuclear project. Suppliers may need specific quality management systems, documentation and traceability processes, welding qualifications, inspection procedures, and customer-specific approvals before they can participate in nuclear work.
What is CSA N299?
CSA N299 is a series of Canadian standards that establishes quality assurance requirements for suppliers providing items and services to nuclear power plants. The level of applicable requirements depends on the scope and safety significance of the work.
Can an industrial fabrication shop work in the nuclear supply chain?
Potentially. Existing experience in sectors such as mining, energy, and heavy industrial fabrication can provide relevant capabilities, but nuclear projects may introduce additional quality, documentation, qualification, and supplier requirements. A shop’s suitability depends on the specific work being procured.
What opportunities could nuclear development create for Saskatchewan manufacturers?
Nuclear projects require a broad network of suppliers beyond reactor manufacturers, including companies supporting construction, engineering, fabrication, maintenance, and other industrial services. As Saskatchewan evaluates nuclear generation, local manufacturers can begin assessing where their capabilities align with future supply-chain needs.