Critical Minerals – June 2026 Roundup
Updated Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy – Request For information
The Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy, launched in 2022, set a strong foundation to accelerate domestic production and build resilient supply chains. Despite progress since the Strategy launch, a number of factors including geopolitical upheaval, market developments, and increasing demand pressures mean that Canada must adapt to address current challenges. The Strategy was always intended to be iterative and adaptive to ensure that Canada can continue to strategically leverage our resource wealth, capture the economic opportunities in critical minerals, advance economic reconciliation, and protect against threats to our economic and national security, from exploration through to production. A refreshed Strategy will also support Canada’s objectives under the Defence Industrial Strategy and Trade Diversification Strategy.
The objective of this Request for Information (RFI) is to seek the perspectives of rights holders and stakeholders on priority areas of focus, including gaps and opportunities, that will inform the development of an updated Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy. The Strategy will guide efforts to: promote domestic production and processing of critical minerals in strategic areas; protect Canada’s sovereignty and economic resilience by safeguarding critical mineral value chains; and partner with Indigenous groups, domestic stakeholders and international allies to develop critical minerals.
Prime Minister Carney Secures New Partnerships in Defence and Critical Minerals at the 2026 G7 Leaders’ Summit
The Prime Minister, Mark Carney, attended the 2026 G7 Leaders’ Summit in Évian, France, this week. At the Summit, he worked with leaders to strengthen collective security and secure critical mineral supply chains.
In Évian, Canada welcomed 13 new partnerships and initiatives with more than eight countries through the Critical Minerals Resilience and Production Alliance. Launched during Canada’s 2025 G7 Presidency, the Alliance brings together trusted partners to diversify critical minerals supply, reduce market concentration, and create a reliable buyers’ club that can attract investment and accelerate production for projects. Together, these projects and initiatives will unlock more than $5 billion in capital investment for projects across the Canadian critical minerals value chain.
Joint Statement by the Leaders of Canada and Germany on Critical Minerals
“Prime Minister Carney and Chancellor Merz took stock of shared challenges in the raw materials supply chains of both Canada and Germany. They agreed to cooperate closely on the issue, both bilaterally and in the G7, and stressed the need for industry to diversify raw materials supply chains.
Under the Joint Declaration of Intent announced in August 2025, Germany and Canada have already deepened critical minerals supply chain integration through a Canadian business mission to Munich, a high-level German critical-minerals delegation to the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) annual convention, and the launch of a joint supply chain mapping initiative to identify priority battery value chain opportunities.
Building on the success of this collaboration, Canada and Germany agree to work together to advance critical mineral supply chain resiliency focused on enhancing a partnership on critical minerals stockpiling and leading to capital investments by the end of 2026.”
Canada—Italy Joint Statement on the Ministerial Energy Dialogue Meeting
Canada’s Minister for Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson and Italy’s Minister of the Environment and Energy Security Gilberto Pichetto Fratin met today on the margins of the International Energy Agency’s Global Conference on Energy Efficiency to hold the second iteration of the Canada-Italy Ministerial Energy Dialogue. They underscored the importance of continued engagement following the inaugural meeting convened in October 2025 at the G7 Energy and Environment Ministers’ Meeting. The Ministers reviewed progress and reaffirmed their commitment to sustained collaboration and tangible outcomes.
Recognizing the essential role that critical minerals play in energy security, clean technology and defence, Canada and Italy are committed to enhancing cooperation on critical minerals and critical raw materials, in line with the Joint Statement on Critical Minerals and Critical Raw Materials. In particular, they tasked their respective critical minerals envoys with developing joint approaches to stockpiling by the end of 2026.
Minister Hodgson Advances Canadian Digital Core Library at EMMC 2026
At the 2026 Energy and Mines Ministers’ Conference, the Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced the CDCL’s next steps. Minister Hodgson highlighted newly signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories, and Yukon, which will work with the federal government to advance priority actions needed to achieve the CDCL’s objectives, such as supporting drill core scanning in their jurisdiction, accelerating the availability of geoscience data in priority regions and co-developing sustainable digital library solutions with other jurisdictions and industry partners.
The majority of public drill core in Canada is held by the provinces and territories, meaning that collaboration between the Government of Canada and provincial and territorial governments is essential to the successful development of the CDCL. Alongside contributions from industry, which also holds core repositories, these agreements mark a significant step forward in a new Team Canada approach to drill core data.
Minister Hodgson also announced up to $15 million for Creative Destruction Lab, a global not-for-profit network with expertise in advancing the commercialization of complex scientific and data-driven innovations, to develop the CDCL platform. Once operational, the platform will improve data accessibility, reducing exploration risk. This will allow us to accelerate investment and innovation across Canada’s mining sector while supporting Canada’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy: AI for All by enabling the use of AI in priority sectors — including natural resources — to drive productivity and economic growth.
Minister Hodgson Accelerates Canada’s Mining Sector
The Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced investments of up to $73 million for 12 projects across Canada that will advance Canadian mining and build the infrastructure needed to connect Canadian critical minerals to global markets. These investments include:
- Up to $51.57 million through the First and Last Mile Fund for five projects to advance critical minerals production and supply chains.
- $19.6 million under the Energy Innovation Program for five projects to advance clean energy and industrial decarbonization technologies that strengthen Canada’s economic and climate competitiveness.
- Nearly $2 million under the Indigenous Natural Resource Partnerships program for the Tahltan Central Government’s project to co-develop, assess and participate in decision-making on major critical minerals resource projects.
Canada and the Republic of Korea Deepen Co-Operation on Energy Resources and Critical Minerals
Canada and the Republic of Korea continued discussions on priority areas, including joint stockpiling of critical minerals, investments in strategic natural resources projects and policy measures to stabilize energy supplies. They agreed that the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources and Natural Resources Canada will develop a joint plan on critical minerals stockpiling by the end of 2026 as part of a shift to a more integrated supply chain partnership.
They welcomed an implementation agreement between the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) and the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) to advance research and development collaboration on naturally occurring hydrogen.
Minister Hajdu and Industry Leaders Launch the Mining and Minerals Workforce Alliance
The Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario, the Honourable Patty Hajdu, announced the launch of the Mining and Minerals Workforce Alliance, alongside the Mining Industry Human Resources Council, strongly supported by the Mining Association of Canada. The Alliance will identify and advance industry-led solutions to strengthen the skilled workforce needed at all stages of producing minerals and metals.
The Mining and Minerals Workforce Alliance is the first of six workforce alliances to be established, all of them unified by one core mission: to identify and address pressing labour market challenges and to coordinate public and private investments in skills development to produce fulfilling opportunities for Canada’s workers where they are most needed to Build Canada Strong. To fulfill this mission for the alliance, the Mining Industry Human Resources Council will serve as the lead delivery organization, strongly supported by the Mining Association of Canada.
Together, they will convene network members that represent employers, labour, post-secondary institutions, Indigenous partners and under-employed groups to develop a workforce strategy grounded in the real needs of the sector.
Western, Northern Provinces, Territories Join Forces on Critical-Minerals Development
British Columbia has been leading the co-development of a Western and Northern Canadian critical-minerals strategy that will expand critical-mineral development and processing throughout the region, working in partnership with Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Stronger Together: a Critical Minerals Strategy for Western and Northern Canada provides a co-ordinated framework that positions the region as a key player in responding to evolving global economic and geo-political conditions, while also strengthening the economies of the Northern and Western Canada, and Canada as a whole. Provinces and territories, including Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and British Columbia, are actively collaborating on the implementation of the strategy. Continued partnership across governments, Indigenous communities and industry will be essential to unlocking the region’s full value-chain potential from exploration and extraction through to processing and manufacturing.
B.C. Approves Red Chris Mine Expansion
The Red Chris expansion project will move operations from open-pit mining to block-cave underground mining, enhancing production capacity and extending the mine lifespan to 2038, while addressing environmental and community concerns. The expansion carries a projected capital cost of several billion dollars and will increase ore processing to as much as 15 million tonnes per year. It is anticipated that the expansion will create approximately 1,800 jobs during peak construction and protect the existing 1,500 permanent jobs.
Saskatchewan Supports New Critical Minerals Strategy for Western and Northern Canada
The Government of Saskatchewan welcomes a new, collaborative critical minerals strategy for western and northern Canada that aims to advance the region’s immense resource sector potential. Developed through close cooperation among western provinces and northern territories, Stronger Together: A Critical Minerals Strategy for Western and Northern Canada outlines a shared approach to strengthening the region’s position as a secure and reliable global supplier of critical minerals. Saskatchewan played a key role in shaping the strategy that includes a strong focus on improving export infrastructure and interprovincial transportation corridors.
Ontario and Webequie First Nation Break Ground on Ring of Fire Road
Premier Doug Ford, Webequie First Nation Chief Lorraine Whitehead, Greg Rickford, Minister of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation and Minister Responsible for Ring of Fire Economic and Community Partnerships, Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation, and Stephen Lecce, Minister of Energy and Mines, celebrated the start of construction on the Webequie Supply Road, a historic milestone in the government’s plan to protect Ontario by building the roads to the Ring of Fire, five years ahead of schedule.
Ontario’s ambitious Ring of Fire road delivery plan delivers on a core mandate commitment and will help unlock the vast economic potential of critical minerals in the region, create well-paying jobs, strengthen domestic supply chains and support long-term economic growth and prosperity for First Nation communities and Northern Ontario.
Ontario Breaks Ground on Roadways at the Gateway to the Ring of Fire
Greg Rickford, Minister of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation and Minister Responsible for Ring of Fire Economic and Community Partnerships, along with local First Nation partners, municipal leaders and industry representatives, marked a major milestone on the gateway to the Ring of Fire, breaking ground on the reconstruction of the Municipality of Greenstone’s Geraldton Main Street Rehabilitation Project.
Ontario is unlocking the economic potential of the Ring of Fire region while ensuring First Nation communities benefit from critical mineral development. As global demand for critical minerals needed to manufacture electric vehicles, batteries, modern defence technologies and advanced manufacturing continues to grow, Ontario has the deposits, skilled workforce, expertise and business-friendly investment climate to secure the province’s place as the most competitive jurisdiction in the G7 to invest, create jobs and do business.