Quarterly Financial Report for the Quarter Ended September 30, 2025

Statement outlining results, risks and significant changes in operations, personnel and programs

1. Introduction

This quarterly financial report has been prepared by management, as required by section 65.1 of the  Financial Administration Act , and in the form and manner prescribed by the Treasury Board Secretariat. The report should be read in conjunction with the Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates.

The report has been reviewed by the Departmental Audit Committee. 

1.1 Authority and mandate

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) was established on May 31, 2000, with the coming into effect of the Nuclear Safety and Control Act (NSCA). The CNSC is a departmental corporation and reports to Parliament through the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.

As an independent regulatory agency and quasi-judicial administrative tribunal, the CNSC has jurisdiction over all non-military nuclear-related activities and substances in Canada. Its mandate under the NSCA is to: 

• regulate the development, production and use of nuclear energy in Canada to protect health, safety and the environment
• regulate the production, possession, use and transport of nuclear substances, and the production, possession and use of prescribed equipment and prescribed information
• implement measures respecting international control of the development, production, transport and use of nuclear energy and substances, including measures respecting the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and nuclear explosive devices
• disseminate objective scientific, technical and regulatory information concerning the CNSC’s activities, and about how the development, production, possession, transport and use of nuclear substances affect the environment and the health and safety of persons

Further details on the CNSC’s authority, mandate and Departmental Results Framework can be found in the Departmental Plan and the Main Estimates (Part II) .  

1.2 Basis of presentation

This quarterly report has been prepared by management using an expenditure basis of accounting. The accompanying statement of authorities table (see appendix) includes the CNSC’s spending authorities granted by Parliament and those used by the CNSC, consistent with the Main   Estimates and Supplementary Estimates   for both the 2024–25 and 2025–26 fiscal years, as well as transfers from Treasury Board central votes that are approved as at the end of the quarter. This quarterly report has been prepared using a special-purpose financial reporting framework designed to meet financial information needs with respect to the use of spending authorities. 

The authority of Parliament is required before monies can be spent by the Government of Canada. Approvals are given through annually approved limits, appropriation acts or legislation in the form of statutory spending authority for specific purposes. 

The CNSC uses the full accrual method of accounting to prepare and present its annual departmental financial statements that are part of the departmental results reporting process. However, the spending authorities voted by Parliament remain on an expenditure basis. 

1.3 The CNSC’s financial structure

The CNSC has a structure within which various funding mechanisms are used to deliver its mandate. Most of the CNSC’s funding is received from statutory budgetary authorities, and the balance comes from voted budgetary authorities.

Pursuant to subsection 21(3) of the NSCA, the CNSC has statutory authority to spend during a fiscal year any revenues that it received in the current or previous fiscal year through the conduct of its operations. The revenues received from regulatory fees for licences and applications are charged in accordance with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission Cost Recovery Fees Regulations . This authority to spend revenues provides a sustainable and timely funding regime to address the rapid changes in the regulatory oversight workload associated with the Canadian nuclear industry. 

The CNSC is also funded through a voted budgetary authority from Parliament (Vote 1 – Program expenditures). The voted authority is used to fund activities and certain types of licensees that, under the regulations, are not subject to cost recovery. The regulations state that licensees such as hospitals and universities are exempt from paying fees, as these entities exist for the public good. Additionally, fees are not charged for activities that result from CNSC obligations that do not provide a direct benefit to identifiable licensees. These include activities with respect to Canada’s international obligations (including non-proliferation activities) and public responsibilities (such as emergency management and public information programs), and work done to update the NSCA and associated regulations.

Contributions to employee benefit plans come from statutory budgetary authorities. 

2. Highlights of fiscal quarter and fiscal year-to-date results

This section highlights the significant items that contributed to the net change in authorities and actual expenditures for the quarter and year-to-date (YTD) ended September 30, 2025. 

Highlights of the fiscal quarter and fiscal year-to-date results ($ thousands)

n/a	n/a	2025–26 Budgetary authorities to March 31, 2026	2024–25 Budgetary authorities to March 31, 2025	Variance in budgetary authorities	YTD expenditures as at Q2 2025–26	YTD expenditures as at Q2 2024–25	Variance in expenditures
Not Statutory	Vote 1 – Program expenditures	59,223	54,254	4,969	26,198	29,270	(3,072)
Statutory	Contributions to employee benefit plans	6,232	5,108	1,124	3,116	2,554	562
Statutory	Expenditures pursuant to subsection 21(3) of the NSCA	121,416	108,606	12,810	53,885	61,899	(8,014)
Statutory	Total statutory authorities	127,648	113,714	13,934	57,001	64,453	(7,452)
Combined	Total	186,871	167,968	18,903	83,199	93,723	(10,524)

2.1 Statement of voted and statutory authorities

The CNSC’s total authorities available to spend in 2025–26 as of September 30 have increased by $18.9 million (to $186.9 million) or by 11.3%. 

The voted authorities have increased by $5.0 million (to $59.3 million) or 9.2%. The increase takes into account: 

• a $3.6 million year-over-year increase in funding received from the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) for the cumulative effect of negotiated salary increases
• $2.0 million in funds reprofiled from previous years based on anticipated operational requirements
• a $0.5 million year-over-year decrease as a result of budget reductions announced under the government-wide Refocusing Government Spending Initiative
• a $0.1 million decrease as a result of a transfer to Shared Services Canada to fund the Microsoft 365 E5 enterprise standard initiative

Contributions to employee benefit plans have increased by $1.1 million (to $6.2 million) or by 22.0% because of an increase in the related rate applied by TBS as well as new funding from TBS for negotiated salary increases. 

The CNSC’s statutory authority for expenditures pursuant to subsection 21(3) of the NSCA is based on expenditures for activities subject to cost recovery fees. This authority increased by $12.8 million (to $121.4 million) or by 11.8% owing to new industry projects and negotiated salary increases. 

2.2 Expenditure analysis

As illustrated in the appended statement of authorities table, Q2 expenditures decreased by $13.3 million (to $44.1 million) or 23.2%, and YTD expenditures decreased by $10.5 million (to $83.2 million) or 11.2%. Q2 Vote 1 expenditures decreased by $3.6 million (to $14.5 million) or 19.9%, and YTD expenditures decreased by $3.1 million (to $26.2 million) or 10.5%. Expenditures pursuant to subsection 21(3) of the NSCA decreased by $10.0 million (to $28.1 million) or 26.3% for Q2, and decreased by $8.0 million (to $53.9 million) or 12.9% YTD. Contributions to employee benefit plans increased by $0.3 million (to $1.5 million) or 22.0% for Q2, and by $0.6 million (to $3.1 million) or 22.0% YTD. 

As illustrated in the appended table of departmental budgetary expenditures by standard object, the decrease in expenditures of $13.3 million for Q2 and the decrease of $10.5 million YTD by standard object take into account: 

• a $14.8 million ($10.2 million YTD) decrease in personnel costs attributable to timing issues related to negotiated salary increases (including retroactive payments for 2022–23 and 2023–24) that were incurred in Q2 of 2024–25
• a $0.6 million YTD decrease in transportation and communications (unchanged for Q2), reflecting reduced international travel resulting from budget adjustments under the government-wide Refocusing Government Spending Initiative
• a $0.4 million ($1.2 million YTD) decrease in the acquisition of machinery and equipment as a result of decreased expenditures for laboratory equipment and for software and hardware for cloud computing
• a $1.2 million ($1.1 million YTD) increase in professional and special services attributable to the timing of payments to other departments for information technology services
• a $0.3 million increase (but $0.2 million YTD decrease) in rentals owing to the timing of payments for the rental of buildings and for software licence and maintenance fees
• a $0.3 million ($0.3 million YTD) increase in repair and maintenance for leasehold improvements to the CNSC’s portfolio of leased office space
• a $0.2 million ($0.3 million YTD) increase in transfer payments owing to increased expenditures for grants and contributions to the Indigenous and Stakeholder Capacity Fund
• a $0.1 million net decrease in other expenditure categories (unchanged for Q2)

3. Risks and uncertainties

The CNSC has revised its mission and vision and is actively working on reviewing its strategic planning framework to reflect changes taking place in the nuclear sector. It also continues to reflect and anticipate the needs of a changing industry, specifically:

• continued industry interest in new nuclear projects and small modular reactors, including the Darlington New Nuclear Project
• the need for enhanced engagement with Canadians, Indigenous Nations and communities, and those in communities near licensed sites
• the need to adapt its regulatory framework to encompass new nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors
• potential growth in nuclear capacity for net-zero emissions targets
• Ontario Power Generation’s plan to extend the life of and potentially refurbish the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station
• potential expansion of the Bruce Nuclear Generating Stations
• potential impact of tariffs and the evolving geopolitical context on industry growth

The CNSC continually assesses the impact of changes on resources through formal planning and budgeting processes to ensure agility and sustainability, given evolving market needs.

4. Significant changes in relation to operations, personnel and programs

There were no significant changes to operations, personnel or programs during the second quarter of 2025–26. 

5. Approval by senior officials

Approved by:

Pierre Tremblay
President and Chief Executive Officer

Stéphane Cyr
Chief Financial Officer

Ottawa, Canada

Appendix

Statement of authorities (unaudited)

Fiscal year 2025–26 (in thousands of dollars)

n/a	Total available for use for the year ending March 31, 2026 *	Used during the quarter ended September 30, 2025	YTD used at quarter-end
Vote 1 – Program expenditures	59,223	14,512	26,198
Budgetary statutory authorities	n/a	n/a	n/a
Contributions to employee benefit plans	6,232	1,558	3,116
Expenditures pursuant to subsection 21(3) of the NSCA	121,416	28,057	53,885
Total budgetary authorities	186,871	44,127	83,199
Non-budgetary authorities	-	-	-
Total authorities	186,871	44,127	83,199

*Includes only authorities available for use and granted by Parliament at quarter-end

Fiscal year 2024–25 (in thousands of dollars)

n/a	Total available for use for the year ending March 31, 2025 *	Used during the quarter ended September 30, 2024	YTD used at quarter-end
Vote 1 – Program expenditures	54,254	18,123	29,270
Budgetary statutory authorities	n/a	n/a	n/a
Contributions to employee benefit plans	5,108	1,277	2,554
Expenditures pursuant to subsection 21(3) of the NSCA	108,606	38,077	61,899
Total budgetary authorities	167,968	57,477	93,723
Non-budgetary authorities	-	-	-
Total authorities	167,968	57,477	93,723

*Includes only authorities available for use and granted by Parliament at quarter-end

Departmental budgetary expenditures by standard object (unaudited)

Fiscal year 2025–26 (in thousands of dollars)

Expenditure	Planned expenditures for the year ending March 31, 2026*	Expended during the quarter ended September 30, 2025	YTD used at quarter-end
Personnel	144,268	34,527	67,676
Transportation and communications	6,000	1,001	2,026
Information	1,150	245	452
Professional and special services	19,398	5,200	8,258
Rentals	2,500	787	1,158
Repair and maintenance	2,000	745	892
Utilities, materials and supplies	625	195	285
Acquisition of machinery and equipment	4,000	698	1,057
Transfer payments	6,830	724	1,397
Other subsidies and payments	100	5	(2)
Total gross budgetary expenditures	186,871	44,127	83,199
Total revenues netted against expenditures	-	-	-
Total net budgetary expenditures	186,871	44,127	83,199

*Includes only authorities available for use and granted by Parliament at quarter-end

Fiscal year 2024–25 (in thousands of dollars)

Expenditure	Planned expenditures for the year ending March 31, 2025*	Expended during the quarter ended September 30, 2024	YTD used at quarter-end
Personnel	127,403	49,289	77,838
Transportation and communications	5,300	1,031	2,609
Information	1,100	353	454
Professional and special services	17,388	4,021	7,196
Rentals	3,000	465	1,332
Repair and maintenance	3,347	492	620
Utilities, materials and supplies	500	137	227
Acquisition of machinery and equipment	3,000	1,084	2,236
Transfer payments	6,830	498	1,109
Other subsidies and payments	100	107	102
Total gross budgetary expenditures	167,968	57,477	93,723
Total revenues netted against expenditures	-	-	-
Total net budgetary expenditures	167,968	57,477	93,723

*Includes only authorities available for use and granted by Parliament at quarter-end