Powering the Future: SMRs, Critical Minerals, and Energy Security will take place on March 2, 2026 in Toronto, an event during the PDAC 2026 Convention. The event will convene policy makers, regulators, government representatives, industry leaders, and Indigenous communities from across Canada, alongside international partners, for a practical discussion on the rapidly tightening link between critical minerals supply, energy security, and new nuclear deployment.
The program will examine the nexus between SMRs and critical minerals. It will explore how SMRs can provide reliable, low-carbon electricity and heat to enable decarbonized mining and mineral processing. It will also address how expanding nuclear deployment, including the nuclear fuel cycle and the broader nuclear supply chain, is driving new demand for critical minerals and industrial capabilities that mining jurisdictions are uniquely positioned to provide.
This 2026 edition builds directly on the momentum of last year’s successful inaugural forum, Powering the Future: SMRs, Nuclear Fuel, and Decarbonizing the Mining Sector, which was co-hosted with the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and later captured in a published “Key Takeaways” report. In 2025, we welcomed 200+ participants from Canada and abroad, including the Ministers of Energy from Alberta, Ontario, and New Brunswick, alongside senior nuclear and mining leaders from Canada, the United States and Europe, international organizations, Indigenous leaders, academia, and leading think tanks.