Ontario framed closing two major partnerships within 48 hours, pairing a “hundreds of millions” nuclear support agreement in Bulgaria with UK-based groundwork for a critical minerals partnership involving Argentina.
In Bulgaria, Ontario Minister of Energy and Mines Stephen Lecce joined Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov to announce an agreement leveraging Ontario’s nuclear expertise to support Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant’s new build, tied to two proposed reactor units, Units 7 and 8.
Delivery is anchored by a selected consortium, Laurentis Energy Partners, BWXT Canada, and Canadian Nuclear Partners, supporting a two-phase contract described as “valued at hundreds of millions of dollars” for two Westinghouse AP1000 reactor units.
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Phase one begins immediately and is defined as planning work over the next 15 months. Pending approvals, phase two is expected to begin in 2027 and covers construction over eight to ten years.
The partnership is framed as job-supportive at scale, described as hundreds of jobs across local and European hiring with expertise from Ontario and across Canada, plus a workforce localization target from Bulgaria of 30% Bulgarian specialists on the project.
In the UK, Lecce’s trip summary describes a parallel partnership effort centered on critical minerals, stating Ontario “laid the groundwork for a critical mineral partnership agreement with Argentina” while promoting “Canada’s ethical resources” to global investors.
The move puts the UK setting as a market for Canadian supply and to court capital, with global investors cited as an audience and “turned heads” used as the stated outcome.
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