Canada’s federal government is set to accelerate the development of critical mineral projects valued at C$6.4B, according to Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, as part of the Critical Minerals Production Alliance. The announcement was made during the G7 energy ministers’ meeting, where global leaders discussed strategies to bolster investments and secure supply chains for minerals essential to the energy transition.
The initiative is part of Canada’s broader strategy to reduce reliance on foreign sources—particularly China—for minerals like lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, and rare earth elements, which are vital for clean energy technologies including EV batteries and solar panels.
Canadian Energy Minister Tim Hodgson commented, “We have an incredible set of cards in our critical mineral resources. We have not effectively developed those in the past. These actions, with the support of our allies, are designed to do that and make sure Canada has all the cards it needs in a world where access to critical minerals is becoming a tool of political and geopolitical coercion.”
Part of the announcement includes C$25M for a scandium plant in Quebec for Rio Tinto. It also includes a conditional C$36.3M for Ucore Rare Metals Inc. to expand its rare earths processing plant in Ontario. Other recipients of the funding include Northern Graphite Corp., Focus Graphite Inc. and Torngat Metals Ltd.
There are also deals in the pipeline that include future supply contracts for the Canadian government that will also them to stockpile critical minerals for future use.
Nouveau Monde Graphite will benefit from this initiative as well, with offtake agreements with the Government of Canada, Panasonic, and Traxys, in addition to potential investment from the Government of Japan. To hear more about their plans, meet them at the upcoming 121 Mining Investment London event on 17-18 November. Register here: https://london.121mininginvestment.com/home
For the full list of projects, read more here: https://www.canada.ca/en/natural-resources-canada/news/2025/10/backgrounder-canada-unlocks-25-new-investments-and-partnerships-with-9-allied-countries-to-secure-critical-minerals-supply-chains.html
