Ontario Approves New Small Nuclear Reactor at Darlington — Here's How It's Being Paid For
Ontario Power Generation received the green light in April 2025 to build a small nuclear reactor at the Darlington power station. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission issued a construction licence — the final regulatory approval needed to actually start building.
Funding for the $1 billion project comes from several sources. Ontario put in $1 billion. The federal government contributed through the Canada Growth Fund and the Canada Infrastructure Bank, which lent $970 million. By early 2025, OPG had already spent $1 billion of its own money on the project.
First Nations Will Have a Stake
Ontario wants First Nations to own part of the project. The province has a loan guarantee program that helps Indigenous communities afford stakes in energy infrastructure. Think of it like a co-signer on a loan: the government backs the loan, so the bank lends money at cheaper rates, making it possible for First Nations to participate.
Ottawa and Ontario are expected to announce a joint loan guarantee for this specific project — both governments would back First Nations' borrowing, splitting the risk between them.
What Kind of Reactor?
The reactor is called a BWRX-300 (made by GE-Vernova). It is much smaller than traditional reactors — 300 megawatts instead of the 900-plus megawatt reactors at Darlington now. The BWRX-300 has built-in safety features that work without pumps or human action if something goes wrong. It also needs less concrete and steel than a full-sized reactor.
This will be the first time a BWRX-300 operates at commercial scale anywhere in the world.
Ontario says the project will create thousands of jobs and supply clean electricity to thousands of homes. These are government projections, not independent studies.
Spread across multiple governments and Indigenous partners, the financing plan divides both the money and the political responsibility for the project. In the past, nuclear projects have been hard for governments to stick with through elections. This structure — shared funding and shared ownership — may make it easier to see the project through, as long as construction costs stay close to estimates.
