If nuclear energy could economically be applied to bitumen extraction from western Canada’s oil sands — a process that currently uses fossil fuel — it would conserve natural gas, improve the carbon profile of the oil sands, help to mitigate public perception problems in the US market and facilitate longer-term oil sands industry growth. It might also open doors to a dramatically lower-carbon electricity system across Canada. Stimulated by an uptake of nuclear in resource processing, new generations of nuclear reactors could increasingly supplant fossil-fuelled generation, not just in big-grid areas, but even in smaller northern communities and at military installations — replacing dirty air and expensive power with clean air, knowledge jobs and affordable, reliable energy.