October 21, 2026
139
Almost 200 people attended the Nuclear Innovation Institute (NII)'s annual Clean Energy Frontier conference, Oct. 8-9, at the Unifor Family Education Centre in Port Elgin.
Built around the theme, “It starts here,” the event brought together industry professionals, community leaders, educators and partners for interactive workshops, keynote addresses, an evening awards reception and a full day of conference programming.
“As we heard from all our speakers in many different ways, it truly does start here — in this province, this region, and at events like this conference,” said Jessica Linthorne, NII president and chief executive officer (CEO).
Day 1 opened with a keynote address by Dan Riskin, biologist, science journalist, author and television host, on the power of scientific thinking to solve real-world problems. His speech was followed by two rounds of workshops covering investment attraction, provincial advocacy, municipal resilience and workforce pathways.
Conference guests take part in an interactive workshop focused on youth careers in the region
Sponsored by Teeswater Concrete, that night’s evening reception included the presentation of the third-annual Clean Energy Frontier program awards, recognizing outstanding contributions to the local economy and clean energy sector.
Day 2 featured sessions on Canada’s economic and policy outlook, the state of nuclear refurbishment and power generation, the Canadian Centre for Space Isotopes, sector transformation, community readiness and safety training, featuring keynote speakers Robert Lavigne, executive vice-president of economic research with the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS); and Eric Chassard, president and CEO of Bruce Power (right).
“As an industry, we need to remain laser-focused on safety, high quality and cost reduction,” said Chassard. “Relentlessly investing in our workforce, combined with disruptive innovations and avoiding complacency, will secure a bright future for our communities.”
“This year, we welcomed upwards of 200 nuclear industry professionals, elected officials, community leaders, academic and service partners, vendors and entrepreneurs,” said Linthorne. “That growth over 2025 tells us these conversations matter to more and more people every year. We're grateful to all our sponsors for helping us bring this key event to life, and to everyone who took the time to join us.”
Ontario associate energy minister Matt Rae kicks off Day 2 of the conference with welcome greetings
With Bruce Power as this year’s title sponsor, founding sponsors include BWXT, Cameco, Candu Energy, E.S. Fox, Kinectrics, the Power Workers' Union and the Town of Saugeen Shores.
Thank you to Teeswater Concrete, sponsor of the evening reception, as well as partner-level sponsors Accenture, Aecon, ATS Industrial Automation, Framatome, Neoen, Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario, Sargent and Lundy, Scotiabank, Society of United Professionals, TC Energy Ontario Pumped Storage and Westinghouse; and collaborator-level sponsors Electricity Human Resources Canada, ERTH, Ironworkers Local 736, Mills Construction Products, Northern Transformers, NPX Innovation, The Paisley Inn, Tetra Tech, UBC Local 2222 and Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus.
Learn more about all of NII’s work at nii.ca.
Workshop speaker Arveen Mann (standing at white board) of Invest Ontario shares information on investment attraction for regional municipalities at the Clean Energy Frontier conference, Oct. 8-9, in Port Elgin
Related Stories
No related stories.