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The Ontario government made it clear Tuesday that much more than politics will go into deciding who gets the nod to build a new nuclear plant in the province and that global vendors can count on an open competition.

A spokesman for Ontario Energy Minister Dwight Duncan said that the provincial government has not yet decided whether Crown-owned Atomic Energy of Canada or a global company will be awarded the contract to build the province's first new reactors in more than two decades.

"Our preference is to use Canadian technology, but ultimately our first priority is to Canadian taxpayers to ensure we get the best deal possible," Steve Irwin said.

Mr. Irwin was responding to Federal Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn, who weighed in on the matter by saying it is "imperative" that the contract go to AECL. Mr. Lunn contacted The Globe and Mail last Friday while he was Christmas shopping in Vancouver to make the point that the federal government is not technology neutral on the Canadian-made Candu reactor.

However, an Ontario government source said that as far as the province is concerned, much more than politics and protecting Canada's home-grown nuclear industry will enter into the equation. The source said that Ontario, not Ottawa, is responsible for selecting a winning bid and global vendors should not be dissuaded by Mr. Lunn's comments.

"Ultimately, it's not their deal to make," he said.

Mr. Lunn said it is imperative for the Canadian nuclear industry to build the reactors at home. "If we can't compete at home, I would suggest it wouldn't look very good for our technology elsewhere around the world," he said.

"We are not technology neutral," he said repeatedly in the interview, an assertion that directly contradicts comments made by Canada's nuclear safety regulator.

Linda Keen, chief executive officer of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Association says in a notice posted on the regulator's website that regulation of new reactors will be based on an expanded use of international standards. "This will be a technology neutral approach," she said.

The renewed interest in nuclear energy follows the Ontario government's announcement earlier this year that it will spend $46-billion over the next two decades addressing the province's looming electricity shortage. The plan includes building two new nuclear reactors and refurbishing up to half a dozen existing ones.

The government has asked Ontario Power Generation, the provincially owned electricity utility, and Bruce Power, a private company that operates a nuclear station on Lake Huron, to apply to the regulator for site approval and an environmental assessment. But the government has not yet asked the companies to select the technology they plan to use.

John Earl, a spokesman at OPG, said yesterday that the company is still at the stage of having the regulator determine whether Darlington, 70 kilometres east of Toronto, would be an appropriate location for new reactors. Once the location is approved, the project will be subjected to an environmental assessment, he said.

"We have no position on technology at this point," he said.

A spokesman at Bruce Power declined to comment yesterday.

But Mr. Lunn's strong support for the Candu technology has stoked memories of Ontario's earlier ventures with AECL, including the $20-billion debt from cost overruns and reactor breakdowns.

Nuclear power is the backbone of Ontario's electricity generating system, with AECL's Candu reactors supplying 40 per cent of the province's electricity needs.

But the last time a new nuclear plant went on line in the province was 1992. In 1997, OPG took seven of its 19 reactors off line because they weren't up to standard. In late 2003, the government fired the top three executives at OPG for botching the restoration of the Unit 4 nuclear reactor at the Pickering A station, which was years late and millions of dollars over budget when it came back on line in September of 2003.

"Ontario should be very, very wary of going down the Candu path again, given all the cost overruns," New Democratic Party Leader Howard Hampton said in an interview yesterday. "Too much of Ontario's nuclear scheme is already being handled behind closed doors."

Mr. Lunn pointed out that AECL has a track record over the past decade of delivering new reactors on time and under budget. That included three reactors in South Korea and two in China, he said. AECL has pitched a business plan to the Ontario government that it has used in other markets. The model includes delivering new nuclear power plants on a turnkey, fixed-price basis.

"I'm very confident they can deliver on time and on budget and their record speaks for itself," Mr. Lunn said.

Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory said yesterday that Mr. Lunn's enthusiasm for the Candu reactors is encouraging. "No doubt that will be instrumental in ensuring an attractive proposal for Ontario ratepayers, who are looking for safety, reliability, reasonable cost and economic benefits," he said in an e-mail message. "Time is of the essence in light of Ontario's supply issues and I hope all sides will complete their work on choice of technology sooner than later."