As Canada expands its digital economy and moves toward aggressive emissions targets, Small Modular Reactors are poised to be an essential component in meeting the demand for clean, reliable power.
A 2026 report by the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC), Building a Nuclear SMR Workforce for Western Canada, highlights both the scale of this opportunity and the number of trained individuals that will be required to achieve it.
Federal policy is targeting 10 new reactors by 2040 and aiming to double Canada’s nuclear labour pool by adding around 60,000 qualified workers. At the same time, as the ICTC report cites, 30% of current nuclear workers are over age 50 and will be moving into retirement in the next decade. Building a domestic talent pipeline is urgent.
Saskatchewan is targeting an operational grid-scale SMR by the mid-2030s, and the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) is working to bring microreactors online for remote communities and industries. Alberta is exploring how SMRs can meet the future needs of various industries and could have SMRs online in the 2040s.
We spoke with Erik Henningsmoen, Senior Research & Policy Analyst at ICTC, about how Western Canada possesses a unique industrial advantage to establish the workforce for its nuclear buildout, provided industry and post-secondary leaders act early.
Using Canada’s Nuclear Expertise to Power its Digital Economy
SMR deployment isn’t just an energy sector initiative, it is essential infrastructure for Canada’s technological future.
As Henningsmoen explains, one of ICTC’s primary areas of focus is supporting workforce development for the digital economy. For the past few years, his team has been wondering about how this rapidly growing sector will get the energy it needs, who will build and operate it, and whether this energy can be emission-free.
“There’s the digital layer, but then there is the infrastructure such as data centers that underpins it all, and this requires power. We don’t think of nuclear as being part of the digital economy, but energy is one of the key sectors in Canada that allows everything downstream to happen.”
When it comes to SMRs, Henningsmoen and his colleagues saw the technology maturing just as artificial intelligence was coming online amid rapid electrification in residential and industrial settings.
“As Canadians, we don’t realize how strong we are in nuclear technology. We have our own ecosystem and we are the first movers with SMRs in the G20. It’s a huge technological achievement that we should celebrate. But as Saskatchewan and Alberta start to formalize their SMR deployment timelines, we started to wonder – where is the workforce going to come from?”
The Western Advantage: Transferable Industrial Expertise
Unlike provinces starting from scratch, Alberta and Saskatchewan possess a deep reservoir of transferable industrial infrastructure and talent.
An assessment cited in the ICTC report shows that Western Canada’s industrial and construction sectors can supply 68% of the services and components needed to build SMRs.
As for the labour pool, Henningsmoen points out that Western Canada already has “a lot of professionals with skills that make it easy to transition over to nuclear.”
Skilled trades occupations in Alberta and Saskatchewan are concentrated in industrial and resource-based sectors. People in these roles are already familiar with a mature safety culture regulated under standards comparable with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) guidelines.
“The mindset required in nuclear aligns with current roles in heavy industry, oil and gas or mining such as engineers, plant operators, or skilled trades,” explains Henningsmoen.
Creating structured pathways for these workers to transition into nuclear roles will need to be mapped, supported, and aligned with the sector’s high safety and regulatory standards.
Henningsmoen explains that it is critical to clarify the skills, timelines, and training gaps that will shape workforce readiness, partnerships between employers and post-secondary institutions, and workforce development generally.
Overcoming the Talent Bottleneck Through Early Partnerships
The Canadian government’s nuclear strategy and its call for the development of at least one new reactor outside of Ontario by 2035 cannot be executed without more educational pathways.
Henningsmoen currently sees a healthy balance of supply and demand for expertise like power engineering and skilled trades in Alberta and Saskatchewan as these roles are needed in a variety of industries, but cautions that existing degree programs may not have enough capacity to meet the needs of SMRs coming online.
Western Canada currently has zero specialized post-secondary degree programs in nuclear engineering or technology, and there is a real chance that young people who travel to Ontario or Quebec to study will end up finding employment at one of the nuclear plants that is already operational in Eastern Canada.
Although SMRs in Western Canada are not scheduled to be online before 2035, building a local workforce takes time. Establishing a new university degree program requires seven to eight years from initial design to graduating the first cohort. Similarly, Diploma and Master’s programs need at least four and five years, respectively.
Henningsmoen describes this as a “chicken and egg” scenario where the workforce must be ready the moment facilities open.
To meet Saskatchewan’s mid-2030s operational targets and Alberta’s long-term deployment goals, Henningsmoen urges SMR developers to “engage early with not just the universities but also regional colleges and polytechnics” and to “build meaningful work integrated learning programming like practicums, co-ops, or apprenticeships where students are given substantive work experience into your academic partnerships.”
Unlocking Underrepresented Talent & Equity Co-Ownership
Building a domestic skills pipeline is essential to meeting workforce demands and improving representation in the industry.
Over 53% of nuclear job postings require strict security clearances. While absolutely necessary for sensitive infrastructure, these can present barriers for foreign talent, reinforcing the need to provide Canadians with opportunities for education and career transition.
For example, Henningsmoen has seen how strict requirements in the cybersecurity industry have made it difficult for international students to obtain internships and first jobs in Canada.
It is also an opportunity to empower minority groups in the industry.
Women currently comprise just 21% of Canada’s nuclear workforce, while Indigenous workers make up only 4%, despite Indigenous communities representing over 50% of Saskatchewan’s uranium mining workforce.
Henningsmoen stresses the importance of exploring “how to bring more Indigenous workers into the sector, including direct employment, procurement and co-ownership of facilities.”
The ICTC report notes the existing relationships between First Nations communities and Indigenous-owned businesses with nuclear companies in Ontario and encourages “carefully designed training and employment pathways to recruit, train, and retain Indigenous workers … and advance Indigenous talent”. This can ensure that Canada’s nascent SMR sector grows in alignment with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #92.
The Path Forward
Workforce readiness must be treated as infrastructure readiness, explains Henningsmoen. This starts with developing intentional workforce pipelines and long-term relationships between government, industry, and training institutions that work from the same shared picture of the necessary labour market transitions.
“The shared responsibility is to show that the nuclear industry can compete with other excellent and life-long career paths for technically minded young people.”
To learn more about workforce forecasting and policy recommendations, read the full ICTC Report here.
