Seven Ontario First Nations are set to become owners of a significant minority stake in the Darlington New Nuclear Project, backed by a C$715 million loan guarantee that breaks records for Indigenous financing in Canada.
The federal and Ontario governments jointly announced the support for the Williams Treaties First Nations, split evenly between the federal Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program and Ontario’s Building Ontario Fund.
The deal is also notable structurally in that it marks the first time the Canada Indigenous Loan Guarantee Corporation has partnered with a provincial loan guarantee program on a single transaction. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the agreement Tuesday, calling it a historic step in both Indigenous economic participation and Canada’s nuclear ambitions.
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“This program is about giving Indigenous communities greater access to capital they need to invest in major projects and share more fully in the economic opportunities,” Champagne said.
Located east of Toronto on an existing Ontario Power Generation site, the Darlington New Nuclear Project ranks among the most consequential energy builds in the country. Its four planned reactors would produce a combined 1,200 megawatts of clean electricity, enough to power roughly 1.2 million homes. On the emissions side, the project is projected to cut carbon output by an average of 2.3 million tonnes per year across the two-decade span from 2030 to 2050.
Completion would also make Canada the first G7 nation to operate a small modular reactor.
At peak, construction is expected to sustain 18,000 jobs, with 3,700 permanent positions and $500 million flowing annually into Ontario’s nuclear supply chain. Separate from Tuesday’s announcement, the Canada Growth Fund had previously pledged as much as $2 billion in equity to the project in October 2025, a commitment made before this loan guarantee was structured.
The Williams Treaties First Nations, whose seven members include Alderville, Curve Lake, and Hiawatha First Nations, are structured to draw long-term revenue from the electricity asset once it is operational. Rather than receiving a one-time payment or a consultation role, the communities will hold a durable ownership stake in the project’s ongoing returns.
The announcement came one day after Ottawa released its national nuclear strategy, which targets the construction of up to 10 large-scale reactors across the country and aims to double Canada’s uranium exports. Darlington was among the first nation-building projects sent to the federal government’s Major Projects Office for expedited review, reflecting the Liberals’ broader push to accelerate nation-building infrastructure.
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