Key Takeaways

  • Ontario awarded 14 contracts to GTHA manufacturers for components for the Darlington New Nuclear Project's small modular reactors.
  • The province says the contracts will add over $110 million to Ontario's GDP and support hundreds of jobs.
  • The four planned SMRs will produce 1,200 MW — enough for about 1.2 million homes — with 80% of project spending going to Ontario companies.

The Reactor Will Be Built — Much of It in the GTHA

Ontario has awarded 14 contracts to manufacturers in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area to supply the Darlington New Nuclear Project, home of what the province calls the G7's first small modular reactor.

These are not contracts for blueprints. They are for the hardware a reactor is actually made of — transformers, pumps and specialized steel.

Who got the work

  • Armstrong Fluid Technology, Scarborough: a $3.9 million contract for a pumphouse enclosure and pumps
  • Hooper Welding, Oakville: steel for structural modules
  • St. Mary's Cement, Toronto: concrete and a high-density concrete batch plant

More than 100 Canadian companies have already signed agreements with Ontario Power Generation on the project.

The numbers behind the build

The province estimates this round of contracts will add over $110 million to Ontario's GDP and support hundreds of jobs.

The wider project is bigger still:

  • Four SMR units delivering 1,200 MW — enough electricity for roughly 1.2 million homes
  • An estimated $38.5 billion added to Canada's GDP over 65 years
  • About 3,800 jobs sustained across that span
  • 80% of project spending flowing to Ontario companies

The build is backed by $1 billion from Ontario through the Building Ontario Fund and $2 billion from the federal government through the Canada Growth Fund. In 2025, Ontario approved OPG's plan to begin construction on the first of the four reactors.

The Twikup Take

Small modular reactors are usually sold as an energy story. Ontario is deliberately telling it as a manufacturing story instead — pumps from Scarborough, steel from Oakville, concrete from Toronto. Whether the SMR era delivers on its promises, the province has structured the spending so the supply chain, and the jobs, stay home.

Ontario isn't just betting on nuclear power. It's betting on Ontario factories to build it.

Image: AI-generated illustration.

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