Ontario Expanding Ability to Process Cancer Fighting Medical Isotopes
With electricity demand projected to rise by 75% by 2050, our PC government is ensuring a reliable and affordable energy future, stepping in where previous Liberal policies fell short.
Nuclear energy provides over 50% of Ontario’s clean power and enables us to produce life-saving medical isotopes essential in modern cancer treatments.
Ontario is executing on our vision to become an entirely self-sustaining global leader in nuclear energy. To help deliver on this, Ontario is stepping up to domesticate the processing of very specialized cancer-treating medical isotopes here in Ontario by investing in Bruce Power’s new hot cell facility.
This strategic investment will allow Ontario to double its medical isotope production and produce and process the critical cancer-fighting isotope lutetium-177 domestically to treat prostate cancer.
This announcement is built on the success of Ontario being the first jurisdiction in the world to produce medical isotopes in a commercial power reactor, enabling us to produce medical isotopes on a much larger scale, providing essential tools in modern cancer treatment.
Our government is also announcing that Bruce Power will begin refurbishing Unit 4 on February 1, 2025, joining the ongoing refurbishment of Unit 3. Altogether, Ontario plans to refurbish six Bruce units (Units 3 to 8) by 2033, extending their operating lives by at least 30 years.
While the Liberals turned their backs on nuclear energy workers, our government is delivering a strong return on investment for Ontario by generating 22,000 jobs annually and adding $4 billion in economic benefits each year through the Bruce refurbishment and long-term operation.
We remain the only political party with a serious plan to safeguard Ontario’s energy supply while ensuring we produce more life-saving medical isotopes to the country and the world.
