What is Canada doing to move beyond raw extraction and build a complete critical minerals value chain, and which policies or partnerships are delivering the greatest impact in keeping more value at home?
Canada’s strategy is to capture more of the value chain, from extraction to processing to refining and manufacturing. Today, we have more than 85 producing critical minerals mines and processing facilities operating in Canada and roughly 170 advanced projects nearing operational readiness, which we are moving to production quickly using a range of tools. For example, just this week, Mangrove Lithium opened their headquarters in Delta, BC, which will be home to North America's first commercial electrochemical lithium refining facility, meaning we can support more EV battery construction right here at home, rather than relying on other countries.
To encourage investment across the critical mineral value chain, we’ve expanded our suite of Investment Tax Credits to include more critical minerals which incentivizes companies to develop more technology using Canadian critical minerals. We are also addressing infrastructure gaps through our First and Last Mile Fund to connect projects to processing and refining within Canada. Our new Critical Mineral Production Alliance is also making a significant impact in the extraction, refining, and processing here at home, through its 56 new deals and international partnerships.
In a world where access to critical minerals is increasingly tied to geopolitical influence and economic security, how is Canada balancing openness to global investment with the need to safeguard national sovereignty and strategic control over its resource base?
The Prime Minister likes to say that we are standing at a hinge moment in history – and middle powers like Canada have an important role to play in balancing and standing up for national security and economic sovereignty. Our resource abundance allows us to play an outsized role in this conversation globally. I hear constantly from our allies and trading partners how much they would benefit from more of our best-in-class resources, and how much they would like to invest in Canada.
Canada welcomes and is proud to have attracted the most international investment since 2007 under our new government. At the same time, we have rigorous tools like the Investment Canada Act, which ensure that foreign investments are made in Canadians’ best economic and security interests.
We need to ensure we are our own best customer too. That starts with investing in and securing our energy and resources for customers here at home. That is why – for the first time ever – our government designated critical minerals as essential under Canada’s Defence Production Act, allowing us to begin stockpiling minerals crucial to our defence, economy, and clean energy transition so we never have to rely on another nation for critical defence materials or manufacturing.
With over $18 billion in critical mineral investments being mobilized, what has changed in Canada’s approach to attracting and deploying capital—and how will you ensure projects move from planning to production?
This government is focused on fundamentally transforming the way we build and attract investment in Canada, from “whether” to “how”. Both Canadian and international investors see our political stability, talented labour force, and environmental standards as a competitive advantage. To build on that advantage, we are working to shorten and streamline permitting timelines so projects move forward quickly and predictably.
Further, no country can secure resilient supply chains alone. That is why, since last fall, with our G7 and industry partners, we have announced 56 strategic mining investments and partnerships under the Critical Minerals Production Alliance. Our Production Alliance signals to the world that Canada is a leader in bringing new projects to market, countering market manipulation by non-market actors, and strengthening global supply chains. It is assurance like that which moves projects from vision to reality.
Furthermore, we have new tools, like the First and Last Mile Fund and the Sovereign Fund, which allow the federal government to complete equity investments into mining companies, moving more planned projects to production with increased financial certainty.
Indigenous partnership is often framed as being essential to unlocking Canada’s resource potential. How are you ensuring communities are real stakeholders—not just participants—in the value created?
Becoming an energy and resource superpower should benefit everyone, especially Indigenous communities who often reside on the land in which resources are found. We want communities to see lasting value from resource projects, and equity and meaningful partnership are how we achieve that.
Indigenous equity means revenue that stays in the community and can be passed down to the next generation. It means not only participating, but owning. To make that a reality, we have doubled the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program to enable Indigenous Peoples to purchase equity stakes in resource and energy projects.
For example, Cedar LNG, a majority Indigenous-owned project led by the Haisla Nation, and Woodfibre LNG, a project backed by the Squamish Nation, are both advancing as part of a new generation of Indigenous-led, environmentally responsible energy development. By grounding resource development in respect for Indigenous rights, sustainability and shared prosperity, Canada can build a resource sector that strengthens our economy, respects the environment, and delivers real, lasting benefits to Indigenous communities while becoming an energy and resource superpower.
How does Canada balance expanding energy exports today with meeting long-term climate goals—and what does a credible path to being both an energy superpower and a climate leader look like?
If we want to be successful in getting to net-zero by 2050 while remaining competitive on a global scale and meeting the increased demand for energy at home and abroad, we have to both responsibly extract and export our conventional energy resources, while building our clean energy potential. The world economy is undergoing a historic transformation towards low-carbon energy and clean technology. So, to compete internationally, Canada is reducing its carbon intensity to meet the growing demand from global markets for low-carbon products.
LNG is playing a key role in the global transition. This year, LNG Canada Phase 1 came online — the first major LNG export facility in the country, representing a historic step forward in connecting low-carbon Western Canadian gas to global markets. LNG Canada’s facility emissions intensity is 60 per cent below global competitors, and 35 per cent lower than the next best large facility. And it’s not alone. Our LNG can displace riskier, higher-emission sources of energy abroad, strengthen global energy security, and create jobs here at home. As the demand for energy increases, clean electricity and new transmission will be integral for Canada to become an energy superpower, as will nuclear energy – with the small modular nuclear reactor in Darlington, Ontario becoming the first of its kind in the G7 which will be able to power 300,000 homes.
What does success look like five to ten years from now—what specific outcomes would signal that Canada has truly entered its “next chapter”?
Success, to me, is very tangible. Five to ten years from now, it means Canada is building again—and has been for years. It means more mines producing, more energy reaching our allies, and the major projects we have set in motion coming online on time and on track. It also means we have met the ambitious targets we have set out. The Prime Minister has been clear: we are working to double non-U.S. trade and unlock up to $500 billion in private sector investment by 2035.
To me, success would look like hitting those targets—and demonstrating that Canada is one of the most attractive places in the world to invest, build, and grow for decades to come.
And that is exactly what we are focused on through the Major Projects Office and the full suite of tools we have put in place—from investment tax credits to regulatory alignment and strategic public financing. We are creating a new framework that lays out the conditions for capital to move quickly, for projects to get approved efficiently, and for resources to get to markets where there is demand. Ultimately, success is about prosperity, security, and sustainability coming together.
