Ontario Building Fortress Am-Can to Power Economic Prosperity in Canada and the United States

On Wednesday, January 8, 2025, Premier Doug Ford outlined Ontario’s plan to achieve Am-Can energy security and power economic growth on both sides of the border as part of Fortress Am-Can, a renewed strategic alliance between Canada and America that is a beacon of stability, security and long-term prosperity.

The United States and Canada are each country’s most significant trading partners, representing trillions of dollars in annual economic activity and millions of jobs on both sides of the border. Fortress Am-Can will leverage Ontario’s unique advantages to help America bring jobs back home as it decouples from China, including by enhancing and building out the integrated Am-Can energy and electricity grid to encourage more exports of Canadian energy and electricity to the U.S.

“With a new administration set to take office in the White House, our government has an ambitious plan to build up Fortress Am-Can to usher in a new American and Canadian century defined by unprecedented growth, job creation and prosperity. We can only do so by working together and respecting each other,” said Premier Doug Ford. “Fortress Am-Can should be powered by Am-Can energy of every type that’s produced, consumed and creates jobs in every region of both countries. With our fleet of nuclear power plants and the first small modular nuclear reactors in the G7, Ontario is uniquely positioned to power the future of Fortress Am-Can.”

With the province already delivering on its ambitious energy vision, Ontario’s Affordable Energy Future, the province is building out its safe and affordable nuclear fleet, including the first small modular nuclear reactors in the G7, competitively procuring new energy resources and building thousands of kilometers of new transmission lines. This diverse supply mix, including nuclear, hydroelectricity, energy storage, hydrogen and renewables, natural gas and other fuels can power good jobs, economic prosperity and protect national security interests shared between Ontario, Canada and the United States.

As part of building Fortress Am-Can, Ontario is recommending the following additional measures:

• Enhance and build out the integrated Am-Can energy and electricity grid to encourage more exports of Canadian energy and electricity to the U.S., including Ontario’s clean nuclear energy, to power economic growth on both sides of the border.
• Establish a cross-border working group with U.S. and Canadian lawmakers alongside energy and security experts to ensure both countries adhere to best practices for power system security against foreign interference, cyber attacks, terrorism and extreme weather, among other threats.
• Achieve Am-Can energy security sooner by streamlining the approval of new small modular and large nuclear reactors, while respecting duty to consult obligations and protecting safe operations.
• Develop new and reinforce existing electricity transmission interties and natural gas and oil pipelines between Canada and the U.S. to promote the flow of energy across borders.
• Establish a cross-border working group with U.S. and Canadian lawmakers and industry experts to align regulations and eliminate red-tape that slows building cross-border energy infrastructure, including for transmission lines, interties and pipelines.
• Promote Ontario and Canadian nuclear expertise by establishing a new small modular and large -scale nuclear reactor partnership with the U.S., including with key states and local or regional energy and electricity authorities.
• Expand the production of life-saving, cancer-fighting medical isotopes at Ontario’s growing fleet of nuclear reactors to support improved cancer patient outcomes in Canada and the United States.
• Complement the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve and further enhance Am-Can energy by rebuilding and enhancing America’s Strategic Oil Reserve to protect both countries, businesses and every-day families from the high-cost consequences of global oil price manipulation.

“The Am-Can Growth Plan harnesses our province’s abundant energy resource so that we deliver energy security and economic prosperity for families on both sides of the borders,” said Stephen Lecce, Ontario’s Minister of Energy and Electrification. “By leveraging our nuclear energy advantage and proven technologies, we can displace reliance on undemocratic regimes as we generate more clean power for our economy and the world. Our nations built the most enduring economic partnership on the planet, and now more than ever we must remain partners in the fight for Am-Can workers.”

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