SASKATOON, Sask. — News that the province plans to push ahead with large-scale nuclear reactors and meet a target of 2,600 megawatts of power generation by 2050 is being met with enthusiasm from potential contractors and workers in the province.
“Today's announcement is tremendous news for Saskatchewan and for our supply chain,” said Eric Anderson, executive director of the Saskatchewan Industrial and Mining Suppliers Association, or SIMSA.
He was reacting to the province’s Energy Security Strategy update last Tuesday in Saskatoon, which included the news that SaskPower will soon begin planning for the potential development of two large nuclear reactors in northwest Saskatchewan.
The first reactor is to be online by 2042, which is also the target date the province has set to generate an initial additional 2,000 megawatts of power. The large-scale reactors would be in addition to the SMRs, with Rafferty announced as the site selected for further study for those.
With so many nuclear reactors in development, industry people and local leaders are mulling the prospects — and the challenges — associated with the creation of many jobs in the province.
Premier Scott Moe told the audience in Saskatoon that nuclear development “represents a multi-decade economic opportunity… one that will create thousands of jobs across the engineering, construction, manufacturing, transportation, operations and maintenance sectors.”
Anderson pointed to his organization standing ready to help. He pointed to his organization’s 397 member companies that employ more than 36,000 people, with annual sales of more than $18 billion.
He said those companies are ones “who will help make nuclear power a reality in the province.”
“We'll be the ones doing much of the heavy lift on this work, and we're prepared… Saskatchewan's supply chain is ready to play a significant role in the building of large nuclear infrastructure where needed to support Saskatchewan's growing economy and long-term energy security. SIMSA is ready to build both small and large reactors, plus supporting infrastructure when called upon, on time and on budget.”
Indigenous partners also say they can provide the workforce that is needed. Sheldon Wuttunee, CEO of the Saskatchewan First Nations Natural Resource Centre of Excellence, said the “real demands that are on our province really allowed me to think about where we've been, where we are, and where we're going.”
Now, Wuttunee said, they were “in an era where we're faced with some enormous opportunity in the nuclear sector, we're faced with enormous demands on our Saskatchewan workforce, that being First Nations, Métis and non-First Nations. How do we work together in these spaces to make sure we're meeting the needs of some of these major projects that are being entertained?”
Wuttunee pointed to his organization, wholly owned by 74 First Nations, as able to help in that aspect. “We're very excited about these projects and we'll be here to support and participate as things move forward.”
Workers in the trade unions also are welcoming the opportunity to fill the many skilled positions expected to be created.
Tyler Holmen, business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2067, said that for the workers of Saskatchewan, the nuclear announcement “means something very important.”
“Opportunity. Opportunity for apprentices. Opportunity for journeypersons. Opportunity for young people looking for a career. An opportunity for Saskatchewan families to build a good life right here at home.”
He pointed to the IBEW having a long history in the nuclear industry, with 85,000 IBEW members working in nuclear facilities, including construction, maintenance, operation and other skilled occupations in Canada and the United States.
But one challenge Holmen touched on is the need to grow the labour force and add new workers in the skilled trades — a need that many in the construction and natural resources sectors have frequently pointed to. Holmen sees a nuclear project of this size as “an opportunity to build Saskatchewan's workforce.”
“We need to train apprentices. We need to give young people pathways into the skilled trades. And we need to make sure Saskatchewan workers have the opportunity to participate in the work being created right here in their own province.”
In speaking to reporters, Moe was asked about the potential challenges in finding tradespeople and training them in time to get nuclear plants online by 2042. In particular, Moe was asked about those challenges given the many other projects happening in the province that rely heavily on the trades, such as coal refurbishment, mining development and the Bell AI Data Centre build near Regina.
“I won't say that isn't a challenge,” Moe said.
“But I would also say, we currently have in excess of 60 concurrent builds happening in this province as we speak, totalling over $100 billion. We build big stuff here, and we do it time and time and time again, and it is our intent to continue to do that into the future.”
Anderson was of the view that these various types of major projects could all be accommodated.
“I think one of the things that we need to realize is there's a lot of projects going on in the province, but they're all just subtly different,” Anderson said.
“Coal refurbishment is more of a machining project, right? You're doing more machine shop stuff. We're advising that. The data centre build, well, it's more of an industrial warehouse project. There's a lot of concrete to put forward, a bunch of steel structures, and then they bring some stuff in. Now, there could be three natural gas power plants that go with that or something like that…
“The nuclear build is a little bit further down the road, so the timing is working out quite well for us. We've got one, then the other, then the other.”
Anderson also pointed to a shift in thinking that happened at the Canada Investment Summit a couple of weeks earlier.
“The first thing that happened was that a $52-billion spend was announced for Saskatchewan,” he said, pointing to the expansion of the Bell AI Data Centre project. “So the realm of the possible has changed.”
Anderson also pointed to how “even more mind-boggling” it was to people at the announcement that “our premier walked out, with Prime Minister (Mark) Carney smiling, dragging along Prime Minister (Stephen) Harper and Prime Minister (Jean) Chrétien. And the three of them stood there together and agreed this is a good idea.
“Things have changed, and it's a seismic shift. So I think we need to look at what is possible. That line has moved up, and now we're looking at a different era in things to do.”
