Critical minerals are essential components of many new technologies, from low‑greenhouse gas energy sources to electric vehicles to advances in cutting-edge sectors such as medicine, electronics, aerospace and defence. Canada possesses vast reserves of critical minerals. Some of these minerals, such as aluminum, cobalt, copper, graphite, nickel and uranium, are mined or produced in Canada today. Others, such as rare earth elements, lithium and vanadium, are currently being explored or projects are under development.

Considering that the demand for critical minerals is growing strongly around the world, developing this mineral potential is an economic opportunity for Canada’s mining industry. Securing a supply of critical minerals is especially important because access to these resources is not entirely stable and production is concentrated in a few countries, notably China. To reduce this dependence on foreign markets and to position itself on global markets, the Canadian mining industry can leverage its high environmental, social and governance standards and significant involvement of Indigenous communities. Canada could also pursue a “continental” approach to guarantee a supply of critical minerals in cooperation with the provinces and territories, as well as the United States. While some challenges remain, including the exploration and evaluation of Canada’s critical mineral potential, infrastructure in remote and Northern regions and investment-related risks, Canada has the ability to sustainably and responsibly develop the critical minerals sector and take advantage of opportunities to reuse and recycle these resources.

In addition to developing its domestic critical minerals production capacity and supply chains, Canada could also process critical minerals to turn them into value-added products and thus create its own value chains, in sectors such as renewable and low‑greenhouse gas energy, batteries and computer chips for electric vehicles and batteries for energy storage. This report presents ways the federal government could support the development of the critical minerals industry and its associated value chains and identifies potential solutions. These solutions include developing a value-added critical minerals strategy for Canada; supporting the development of intermediate processing capacity; focusing on industries that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and building expertise and training a skilled workforce.