Energy Council of Canada
Christopher Gully is VP Communications Member Engagement at the Canadian Nuclear Association.
Held in Ottawa by the Energy Council of Canada, Canada Energy Update 2024 brings together leaders from Canada's major national energy industry associations to provide a high-level review and forecast. Enjoy these excerpted remarks by Canadian Nuclear Association VP of Communications and Member Engagement Christopher Gully.
About two years ago, you'd be hard-pressed to get any Canadian government official to say the word nuclear in front of a microphone. It wasn't publicly accepted as an important part of Canada's energy system, despite it being fifteen percent of Canada's grid, and sixty percent here in Ontario.
That has changed dramatically. The most public example happened about a year ago. There was an event at the University of Ottawa, a sit-down talk between Justin Trudeau and the German Chancellor, and there was a question from the audience about nuclear affairs in Germany, and you can imagine what the Chancellor said. But Justin Trudeau said he thinks Canada will need a lot more nuclear in the coming decades.
This was the first time we've heard anything from that level of government in terms of committing to nuclear. Since that time, we've heard from other high-level government officials.
There's broad support for nuclear in Canada.