What nuclear energy means to Canada

The Canadian nuclear industry employs more than 30,000 people directly, and indirectly supports nearly 100,000 jobs. It contributed C$4 billion to the economy in 1987. In 1988, Ontario had already saved C$8.6 billion in foreign exchange by using uranium rather than coal. Canada is the world's leading exporter of uranium. Canadian nuclear research is the most effective in the western world in terms of electricity produced per research dollar spent to the end of 1986 (nine times as effective as Italy's). One half of Ontario's electricity now comes from CANDU nuclear plants, and this helps to make Ontario's electricity nearly the cheapest in the world. If coal had been used instead of nuclear energy, then about 6.5 Tg of acid gases would have been released into the atmosphere, and 12 Tg of ashes created to date (1988)