Canada

Canada’s vision for the future of mining is to become a global critical minerals superpower by building a sustainable, technologically advanced, and fully integrated domestic value chain. Building on a robust mining sector that generates roughly 19% of the country’s total domestic exports and contributes an estimated $40 billion directly and indirectly to national GDP from critical minerals alone, Canada aims to evolve from a traditional extraction economy into a premier processing and manufacturing hub. The national strategy focuses heavily on expanding local refining, processing, and recycling capabilities to capture maximum value from its 34 identified critical minerals, including copper, nickel, cobalt, lithium, and rare earth elements—all essential to the global clean-energy transition and defense technologies.

Positioning itself as a trusted partner in global battery and electric vehicle (EV) supply chains, Canada is actively moving to reduce reliance on foreign-controlled processing capacity and safeguard its economic resilience. Driven by the federal Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy and supported by dedicated funding pools like the $1.5-billion Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund (CMIF), the nation is bridging critical infrastructure gaps to bring resources to market sustainably. Championed by a rich innovation ecosystem focused on cleantech, automation, and mine electrification, and underscored by some of the lowest ESG risks globally alongside deep partnerships with Indigenous communities, Canada is shaping a resilient, secure mining future designed to power the world’s transition to a low-carbon economy.