Sask NDP Jobs Shadow Minister heads to Ontario for energy tour; Pipeline Online running Saskatchewan energy tours

Jul 14, 2025

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NDP Energy Critic Aleana Young on the trade show floor of the Saskatchewan Oil and Gas Show on June 5. Photo by Brian Zinchuk

 

REGINA – Saskatchewan and SaskPower are putting serious effort into developing baseload nuclear power generation. As a result, Saskatchewan NDP Jobs and Economy Shadow Minister Aleana Young has travelled to Ontario this week “to tour several facilities and explore opportunities for building Saskatchewan’s energy future, with a particular focus on advancements in nuclear energy,” according to a June 13 press release.

(Since the fall election, the NDP have taken to using the title “Shadow Minister” as opposed to “Critic.” Both are accurate terms reflecting the role of a member of the opposition tasked to monitor a certain government portfolion, and can be used interchangeably.)

“The trip follows several others by the Official Opposition in recent weeks to Alberta and Manitoba to consult energy leaders, government officials and more about the future of Saskatchewan’s energy economy,” the release said.

“The people of Saskatchewan deserve a government that’s focused on the future — that’s focused on creating good-paying jobs, driving investment and modernizing our energy grid to ensure we can continue to keep the lights on and keep costs low,” Young said.

“I really look forward to the discussions and to bringing back a great deal of knowledge that will inform our work to build a bright and diversified energy future for Saskatchewan.”

Young’s trip includes the following:

  • July 13
    • Tour the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s Discover & Demonstration Centre
    • Visit McMaster University to learn about the opportunities that the nuclear industry provides to post-secondary institutions

 

  • July 14
    • Tour the Bruce Power Nuclear Generation Station
    • Tour the Ontario Power Generation Western Waste Management Facility

 

  •  July 15
    • Tour the BWXT fuel assembly plant in Peterborough
    • Tour Cameco’s Port Hope Conversion Facility

 

Young said the Sask. Party continues to pay nothing more than lip service to the discussion of modernizing Saskatchewan’s energy grid and creating new jobs.

“Time and time again this government has failed to deliver,” Young said in the release.

“Even now, the minister responsible says he will retrofit coal plants in the south but offers no concrete plan or a penny of funding. We can’t afford to sit on our hands any longer.

“The future of Saskatchewan’s economy and electricity supply is at stake. I am proud to be on a team that’s focused on Saskatchewan’s future.”

Pipeline Online has asked for comment from the NDP on the June 18 announcement that Saskatchewan will not be shutting down its coal-fired power generation fleet in four years, five months and 17 day, but rather will be rebuilding all three coal plants. While there have been several discussions since then, no interview has yet taken place.

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Saskatchewan energy tours

As for energy tours, over the past two years, Pipeline Online has taken several groups of elected officials on a tour of major energy projects either underway or in the works in the Estevan and Weyburn area. Participants have included then-Minister of Energy and Resources Jim Reiter (current Minister of Finance and Deputy Premier), current Minister of Agriculture Darryl Harrison, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Seniors and Rural and Remote Health Lori Carr (whose riding hosts most of these projects), NDP Leader Carla Beck and the aforementioned Aleana Young, and more. Several more groups are expected to partake in this Saskatchewan-focused tour this summer, including MLAs from both sides of the House, union and municipal representatives as well as business association leaders.

Then-Legislative Secretary for Energy and Resources Daryl Harrison, left, Zach Maurer, and then-Minister of Energy and Resources Jim Reiter, at Arizona Lithium’s planned initial lithium production site near Torquay.

 

The current version of the tour includes:

  1. Implementation and impact of carbon dioxide-enhanced oil recovery in the Weyburn Unit
  2. Site visit of Enbridge’s proposed Seven Stars wind project east of Weyburn
  3. Site visit of proposed Macoun nuclear reactor site for SMRs on Rafferty Reservoir
  4. Rafferty Dam
  5. Kickoff for CO2 pipeline from Boundary Dam to Weyburn Unit
  6. Boundary Dam Power Station and CCS (to the gate, only)
  7. Site visit of proposed Boundary Dam nuclear reactor site for SMRs on Boundary Dam Reservoir
  8. Pass through the Boundary Dam subdivisions that would be impacted by nuclear development nearby
  9. Get close to a dragline
  10. Possibly get close to a drilling rig
  11. Site visit of coal “West Block” west of Boundary Dam
  12. Site visit of proposed Estevan 100 megawatt solar facility
  13. Site visit of SaskPower’s intertie with North Dakota and the Southwest Power Pool, currently under construction
  14. Site visit of Deep Earth Energy Production geothermal project
  15. Tour through Torquay area Flat Lake oil play
  16. Site visit of Arizona Lithium’s brine lithium project near Torquay
  17. Tour through Weyburn Unit oilfield and its implementation of CO2-enhanced oil recovery.

As you can see, it’s a full day. The tour ties together the interaction between power generation and oil development, particularly how carbon dioxide captured at the coal-fired power station turns into real development at the other end of the pipeline. There’s a stress on how further implementation of CO2 capture can add decades of life to southeast Saskatchewan oilfields, providing generational wealth. And while many of these projects are still in their early stages, as they progress to completion, the total among them is many billions of dollars of investment into energy of multiple forms.

It will also allow decision makers to actually stand upon the ground of proposed nuclear developments before making final site selections.

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BREAKING: Saskatchewan to rebuild its coal fleet, despite federal regulations calling for its demise