Canada and Ontario are investing $3 billion to build what they expect to be the first small modular reactors in a

Group of Seven country. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Doug Ford announced the funding at the Darlington Nuclear Station in Bowmanville, east of Toronto. Carney’s government has already pledged to fast-track the initiative — known as the Darlington New Nuclear Project — under his law to speed up permit approvals.

The project to build four small modular reactors will create 18,000 jobs during construction and 3,700 positions during operation, contributing $38.5 billion to Canada’s

gross domestic product over 65 years, the Ontario government said in a news release.

“Today, we are here to make a generational investment that will extend Canada’s world leadership in clean energy, to make us the first in the G7 to have a new kind of nuclear reactor,” Carney said in prepared remarks.

Carney wants to transform Canada into a “superpower” in both conventional and clean energy, and views nuclear power as important to that ambition. He’s also pushing to stoke growth through major projects as

U.S. tariffs damage his country’s economy. The federal government’s arm’s-length investment vehicle, the Canada Growth Fund, is injecting $2 billion, while the province is putting forward $1 billion through its Building Ontario Fund. The funds will acquire minority stakes, representing 15 per cent and 7.5 per cent ownership, respectively.

Once construction is complete, the reactors will produce 1,200 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 1.2 million homes, the Ontario government

said in the release. It said it will ensure 80 per cent of project spending goes to Ontario companies, including locally produced steel — which has been hit by punishing 50 per cent U.S. tariffs.

The province is also exploring multiple new nuclear energy generation projects including Ontario Power Generation’s Wesleyville site in Port Hope.

Carney’s government is set to release a budget on Nov. 4. He has set an ambitious goal of doubling Canada’s non-U.S. exports by 2035, and he said Thursday’s announcement will help improve Ontario’s energy competitiveness and establish leadership in nuclear technology.

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Ford pointed to the federal government’s work to strengthen energy cooperation with Europe, including a partnership with Poland in which both nations pledged nuclear investments.

“As we ramp the production up over a number of years, we’ll be able to ship these SMRs all over the world,” Ford said.