On behalf of everyone at CNL, I would like to congratulate Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) on the completion of their thorough procurement process, and officially welcome Nuclear Laboratory Partners of Canada (www.nlpoc.ca) as the preferred bidder selected to manage and operate CNL beyond September 2025.
This is welcome news for the future of Canada’s national nuclear laboratories, putting our operations into the hands of a parent company with extensive experience managing national-scale nuclear sites, laboratories and projects, and whose management team brings knowledge and expertise that will benefit the Canadian nuclear industry.
While the new contractor will bring about a change in leadership, CNL will continue to build on the progress made to date and take full advantage of – and help accelerate – the resurgence in nuclear energy, science and technology. With a scope of work that includes Canada’s largest and most complex decommissioning and remediation projects, execution of AECL’s innovation agenda in clean energy, health sciences and nuclear security, and the continued renewal of the Chalk River Laboratories campus, Nuclear Laboratory Partners of Canada’s experience and expertise will be invaluable to all that we do.
Since it was adopted in 2015, the Government-owned, Contractor-operated (GoCo) model has enabled CNL to advance work and implement an inspiring corporate vision. It has allowed us to leverage the expertise of the private sector to achieve the best possible outcomes in our work. With this selection, CNL will have the ability to tap into the expertise from our new parent organization, Nuclear Laboratories Partners of Canada, while also serving as the enduring entity in the model, which ensures stability in our personnel, mission and day-to-day work.
It is this combination of flexibility and consistency in our operations that makes the GoCo model so effective, and I have no doubt that the next contract period will prove to be just as productive and successful for CNL as the last. I look forward to working closely with representatives from Nuclear Laboratory Partners of Canada in the weeks and months ahead as we begin the onboarding process, culminating in the official transition on September 13, 2025.
Jack Craig
CNL President & CEO
