Atomic Energy of Canada Limited : In 1942, a joint Canadian-British laboratory opened in Montréal for the purposes of nuclear technology research. The Montréal Laboratory, as it was called, operated under the auspices of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). In 1944, the Montréal Laboratory began construction of Canada's first nuclear reactor, the Zero Energy Experimental Pile (ZEEP), in Chalk River, Ontario. ZEEP went critical in 1945. The Montréal Laboratory was consolidated into the Chalk River project in 1946.
Also in 1946, the Atomic Energy Control Act established the Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB) as the regulatory agency for atomic energy in Canada. Among other responsibilities, AECB was to "assume the control and the direction of the Chalk River (NRX) project" and pursue atomic energy research (Geo. VI, Ch. 37). Although ostensibly directing the Chalk River project, AECB requested that the NRC take over management of the project, which the NRC did in 1947. The National Research Experimental (NRX) reactor first went critical in 1947, and over the following years, Cobalt-60 cancer therapy was pioneered at Chalk River. The increasing size of the Chalk River facilities as well as commercialization possibilities-including the sale of plutonium to the U.S. for military uses-led to discussions of creating a separate Crown agency.
On October 17, 1951, the Queen's Privy Council of Canada approved the creation of a Crown corporation under part one of the Companies Act, 1934, pursuant to section 10 of the Atomic Energy Control Act, 1946. The corporation would act on behalf of AECB for the purposes of sections 8 (a), (b), (c) and (h) of the Atomic Energy Control Act, 1946 (Order in Council 1951-5495, 17 October 1951) and would be named Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) (Order in Council 1951-6720, 11 December 1951). AECL was formally incorporated as a private company by letters patent issued by the Secretary of State of Canada on February 14, 1952. AECL received transfer, from the NRC, of all assets of the nuclear facilities at Chalk River on March 31, 1952 (Appropriation Act No. 2, 21st Parl, 6th Sess). AECL also took over the management of Deep River, the municipality housing Chalk River staff and their families, and the staff and assets of the Commercial Products Division of Eldorado Mining and Refining Limited, a Crown corporation involved in radioactive mining and refining.
At Chalk River, research and design activities continued without interruption after AECL's incorporation. The National Research Universal (NRU) reactor went critical in 1957, producing radioisotopes for research and medical purposes. Links with the U.S. military, established as early as the Montréal Laboratory, also continued through the 1950s. The Canadian and U.S. militaries also assisted in the aftermath of two nuclear incidents occurring at Chalk River: the partial meltdown of the NRX reactor on December 12, 1952, and a fuel rod rupture in the NRU reactor on May 23, 1958.
In 1960, AECL announced the construction of its second laboratory, called the Whiteshell Laboratories, in Pinawa, Manitoba. Whiteshell Laboratories opened in 1963, and its first reactor, Whiteshell Reactor 1 (WR-1), went critical in 1965. A second research reactor designed at Whiteshell, called the SLOWPOKE reactor, went critical in 1970.
From its incorporation, AECL emphasized the development of nuclear electric power technology. In 1954, AECL established its first agreement with a Canadian electricity provider, Ontario Hydro, and Canadian General Electric for the development of a prototype heavy water (deuterium uranium) nuclear power plant. This agreement yielded the first prototype for the Canadian Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) reactor, called the Nuclear Power Demonstration (NPD) reactor, which went critical in Rolphton, Ontario, in 1962. NPD was the first nuclear power reactor to supply electricity to electrical distribution grids in Canada. The agreement between AECL and Ontario Hydro yielded a second CANDU prototype, called the Douglas Point reactor, which went critical in Kincardine, Ontario, in 1966. The first commercial Ontario Hydro CANDU reactor went critical in Pickering, Ontario, in 1971. AECL also signed agreements with New Brunswick Power Corporation and Hydro-Québec for the construction of two new CANDU reactors in Point Lepreau (New Brunswick) and Bécancour (Québec), which went critical in 1983.
AECL marketed its nuclear technology internationally as early as the 1950s. In 1955, AECL signed an agreement with India for the transfer of its NRX reactor design and, later, for the transfer of a CANDU reactor design. AECL was subject to controversy in 1974 when India conducted its first nuclear weapons test, using plutonium likely generated by the NRX and CANDU reactor designs it purchased from Canada. Subject to more stringent domestic and international regulations, AECL sold CANDU reactor designs to Argentina, Korea and Romania in the 1980s and '90s.
The 1980s saw a string of AECL projects shut down following domestic and world events. The Indian nuclear bomb test in 1974, the Three Mile Island meltdown in the U.S. in 1979 and the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 increased apprehension towards nuclear power. Several Canadian nuclear projects shut down in the 1980s and '90s: ZEEP (1980), Douglas Point (1984), WR-1 (1985), NPD (1987), NRX (1993) and the entire Whiteshell Laboratory project (1998). The projects that ceased were all research or prototype operations with minimal commercial applicability that had been in need of refurbishment and additional investment for some time.
In 1978, AECL had restructured, dividing its operational activities among four semi-autonomous units (called companies): engineering, chemical, radiochemical and research. These companies reported to AECL, which took on a corporate-planning oversight role. The bundling of AECL operational activities positioned each AECL company as a separate entity with its own assets, staff and projects for private ownership. In 1988, AECL sold its radiochemical company and Medical Products Division to MDS Group (MDS Nordion) and Theratronics International, respectively. Also in 1988, ownership of the Commercial Products Division was transferred to the Canadian Development Investment Corporation to position the Division for private investment.
In the 2000s and early 2010s, AECL moved towards privatizing its remaining divisions: the CANDU Reactor Division and the Nuclear Laboratories Division. In 2009, the unexpected shutdown of the NRU reactor in Chalk River brought global attention to AECL (and its shareholder, the federal government) and highlighted its role in providing medical isotopes to the world. In 2011, Candu Energy Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin Group, purchased AECL's CANDU Reactor Division.
With its remaining Nuclear Laboratories Division, AECL worked to implement a government-owned, contractor-operated (GoCo) model of management. Under the GoCo model, AECL would own the sites, facilities, assets, intellectual property and responsibility for environmental remediation and waste management, while a privately owned entity would be responsible for day-to-day operations of the sites, workforce, licences and permits. In preparation for this shift, AECL issued a request for private sector interest in 2011 and created Canadian Nuclear Laboratories Ltd. (CNL) as a wholly owned subsidiary in 2014. In 2015, AECL entered into a contract with the Canadian National Energy Alliance (CNEA) for ownership of CNL. The CNEA is a consortium, originally of Rolls-Royce, Fluor, CH2M, EnergySolutions and SNC-Lavalin. Under the ownership of CNEA, CNL operates and manages AECL's facilities.
As of early 2023, AECL owns six sites operated by CNL: the Northern Transportation route, Whiteshell Laboratories, Douglas Point, Port Hope, Chalk River and Gentilly-1. Half of these sites are undergoing shutdown processes, and two are dedicated to radioactive waste management. Nuclear technology research continues to be pursued at Chalk River.
Over the years, AECL has submitted its annual reports via the Minister of Trade and Commerce; Chairman of the Committee of the Privy Council on Scientific and Industrial Research; Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys; Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources; and Minister of Natural Resources. AECL presidents have included C.J. Mackenzie, W.J. Bennett, J.L. Gray, J.S. Foster, James Donnelly, Stanley Hatcher, Reid Morden, Allen Kilpatrick, Robert Van Adel, Hugh MacDiarmid, Robert Walker, Richard Sexton and Fred Dermarkar.
