5 Surprising Ways North America’s Largest Nuclear Facility Is Shaping Our Future
How often do you think about where your electricity comes from when you flip a light switch, charge a phone, or enter a hospital?
Almost every aspect of modern daily life—from healthcare and agriculture to transportation, construction, and telecommunications—relies on a steady, uninterrupted supply of power.
As technology continues to transform every sector of society, global demand for clean, reliable energy is surging.
Enter Bruce Power, located within the Saugeen Ojibway Nation Territory (the shared treaty and traditional territory of the Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation and the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation).
As North America’s largest nuclear generating facility, Bruce Power’s eight CANDU reactors produce one-third of Ontario’s electricity, providing a zero-carbon bedrock for the province’s grid 365 days a year.
However, generating electricity is only part of the story. Beyond basic power generation, this massive facility plays a critical role in global healthcare, subatomic physics, environmental restoration, and Canada’s economic future.
Here are five surprising ways Bruce Power is shaping our world in ways you might not expect.
1. It’s a Global Medical Powerhouse Fighting Cancer
Nuclear power plants do far more than power cities; they are essential to global healthcare. Inside Bruce Power's CANDU reactors, specialized processes produce critical medical isotopes used worldwide for disease treatment and medical device sterilization.
Medical Isotopes and Radiation Sterilization
Cobalt-60: Control rods containing cobalt-59 are inserted into reactors and bombarded with neutrons for up to two years, transforming on an atomic level into cobalt-60. This isotope releases gamma radiation, which is used to fight cancer and sterilize approximately 40% of the world's single-use medical devices, including syringes, gloves, masks, and gowns.
Lutetium-177: In 2022, Bruce Power, the Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON), and industry partners Framatome and Kinectrics installed the world’s first Isotope Production System (IPS) on a commercial power reactor to produce lutetium-177 at an unprecedented scale. A second IPS was added in 2024, doubling weekly production of this targeted cancer-fighting isotope for the global healthcare sector.
The Indigenous Partnership: Gamzookaamin Aakoziwin
This medical work is anchored by a historic Indigenous collaboration known as Gamzookaamin aakoziwin ("We are teaming up on the sickness").
The partnership between Bruce Power and the Saugeen Ojibway Nation creates direct economic opportunities while advancing global health. In 2026, this partnership expanded through a historic 250 million agreement backed by a provincial loan guarantee program.
This sits alongside a separate revenue-sharing agreement delivering 10 million annually in direct payments, split equally between Saugeen First Nation and the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation.
Gamzookaamin aakoziwin — "We are teaming up on the sickness" — represents a historic partnership between Bruce Power and the Saugeen Ojibway Nation, combining advanced nuclear technology with Indigenous leadership to fight global cancer while providing stable, predictable revenue for future generations.
2. Heavy Water Physics: Slowing Neutrons from 90,000 km/s to 3 km/s
Canada’s proprietary reactor design, CANDU (Canada Deuterium Uranium), relies on counter-intuitive physics to convert atomic energy into usable electricity.
While nuclear plants are often likened to giant tea kettles, the subatomic physics inside are carefully governed by a unique molecule: heavy water.
What is Heavy Water?
Heavy water (Deuterium Oxide) is an isotope cousin of hydrogen that is 10% heavier than regular water because it contains an extra neutron in its nucleus. It occurs naturally in Lake Huron at a ratio of 1 in every 7,000 parts. Inside the reactor vessel (the calandria), heavy water serves as both a coolant and a neutron moderator.
The Subatomic Speed Trick
When a uranium nucleus splits inside a fuel pellet, it releases neutrons moving at an astonishing speed of 90,000 kilometers per second. At this velocity, neutrons would pass right through surrounding atoms without causing further splits. Heavy water acts as a brake, slowing those neutrons down to 2 to 3 kilometers per second. This reduced speed allows the neutrons to penetrate other uranium nuclei, sustaining a controlled chain reaction known as nuclear fission.
The Power Generation Journey
Mined uranium is processed into a powder called yellowcake, refined, and baked into ceramic pellets.
Pellets are sealed inside metal tubes and welded into fuel bundles about the size of a firelog.
Bundles sit inside the calandria's 480 fuel channels for 6 to 24 months.
Fission heats the heavy water, which in turn heats regular water inside steam generators.
The resulting steam travels through pipes to spin massive turbines, producing clean electricity.
"Think of a nuclear reactor as a giant tea kettle. Fission creates the heat, heavy water slows down neutrons to keep the atomic fire burning, and the resulting steam drives the turbines that light up our homes."
3. The Coal-Killer That Replaced 7 Million Cars
Bruce Power played a foundational role in one of the largest environmental turnarounds in North American history: the complete phase-out of coal-fired electricity in Ontario.
Ontario's Historic Energy Transition
In the late 1990s, with four Bruce A nuclear units shut down, Ontario relied on coal for more than a quarter of its electricity, resulting in frequent summer smog days. Following Bruce Power's formation in 2001, private investments returned over 3,000 Megawatts of clean electricity from Bruce A to the provincial grid. This massive influx of carbon-free power enabled Ontario to fully shut down its last coal plant by 2014.
Before (1990s / Early 2000s): Coal provided >25% of Ontario's power; Bruce A units were offline; summer smog warnings were frequent across the province.
After (Post-2014): 100% of coal plants eliminated; Bruce A restored; smog days virtually eliminated; near-zero emissions during generation.
Because nuclear energy produces zero carbon emissions, returning these units to service delivered an environmental benefit equivalent to removing 7 million cars from the road each year.
MCR Refurbishment: Proven Execution
To guarantee this clean energy legacy continues, Bruce Power is executing a multi-year Major Component Replacement (MCR) program. The track record speaks for itself: Unit 6 MCR was completed in 2023 ahead of schedule and on budget, followed by Unit 3 MCR completing ahead of schedule and on budget in mid-2026. Refurbishments for Units 4, 5, 7, and 8 will run through 2033, securing reliable power through at least 2064.
4. Nuclear Waste Has a 400-Million-Year Geological Solution
Unlike fossil fuel facilities that vent carbon dioxide and toxic emissions into the open air, the nuclear industry fully contains, tracks, and manages 100% of its solid waste. Used CANDU fuel follows a meticulous, three-stage containment journey:
The Three-Stage Containment Journey
Stage 1: Primary & Secondary Fuel Bays: Upon removal from the reactor, spent fuel bundles sit underwater for approximately 10 years in Olympic-sized swimming pools. Water acts as a natural radiation shield while absorbing residual heat.
Stage 2: Dry Storage Containers: Once cooled, fuel is transferred into welded, reinforced concrete and steel-lined casks for secure, monitored above-ground storage at Ontario Power Generation’s facility on the Bruce site.
Stage 3: Deep Geological Repository (DGR): For permanent containment, Canada’s federally regulated Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) is implementing a plan to store used fuel 600 meters underground.
A 400-Million-Year Geological Solution
The DGR will place used fuel inside dense, impenetrable rock formations that rigorous scientific testing proves have remained stable for over 400 million years.
In 2024, following a selection process involving more than 20 interested communities, the NWMO awarded the DGR project to the Township of Ignace in the traditional territory of Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation in northwestern Ontario.
5. A 100% Canadian Engine Driven by Local Support
Bruce Power operates under a unique public-private partnership structure that blends Canadian ownership, private capital investment, and deep local community backing.
Ownership and Public-Private Framework
Bruce Power is 100% Canadian-owned, with TC Energy and the OMERS pension plan as equal majority owners, alongside minority stakes held by the Power Workers' Union, the Society of United Professionals, and employee owners. While the physical assets remain publicly owned by the Province of Ontario under a long-term lease, Bruce Power privately funds all site operations, maintenance, fuel management, multi-billion-dollar refurbishments, and eventual decommissioning.
Economic Footprint and Job Creation
95 cents of every dollar Bruce Power spends stays inside Canada.
The site's MCR refurbishment program sustains 22,000 jobs annually across the domestic supply chain.
The proposed Bruce C expansion project is projected to inject 238 billion** into Canada’s Gross Domestic Product over its operational life, supporting 19,000 jobs during site preparation and construction while delivering **1 billion in average annual income to Canadian workers.
Local Community Consensus
Polling across Bruce, Grey, and Huron counties demonstrates extraordinary local support:
86% support for the proposed Bruce C expansion project.
96% agreement that Bruce C will create strong local jobs and employment.
91% belief that the expansion will directly benefit the local community.
"
Nuclear energy is one of the most reliable forms of energy available. It contributes to over 50% of Ontario's electricity, and we can count on it 365 days of the year, no matter the weather." — Eric Chassard, President and CEO of Bruce Power
Looking Ahead to 2064 and Beyond
To meet rapidly increasing electricity demand without turning back to fossil fuels, Bruce Power is optimizing its existing infrastructure to add approximately 300 Megawatts of output—targeting a total site capacity of 7,000 Megawatts in the 2030s.
This optimization is nearly equivalent to adding a ninth reactor to the site. Combined with ongoing major refurbishments, these upgrades ensure the facility will power homes, drive economic growth, and supply life-saving medical isotopes through at least 2064.
From moderating subatomic particles with heavy water to curing illnesses and keeping regional air clean, Bruce Power demonstrates how nuclear technology serves as a versatile engine for modern civilization.
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