Canada's Critical Minerals Strategy, launched in 2022 and backed by billions in federal investment, identifies 31 minerals as critical for the clean energy transition, defense, and advanced technology supply chains. The country holds globally significant reserves of lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, potash, uranium, and rare earth elements. The strategy encompasses the entire value chain from exploration and mining through processing and recycling, with the explicit goal of building North American processing capacity to reduce dependence on Chinese refineries.
This matters because the global clean energy transition depends on minerals that are currently concentrated in supply chains controlled by China. Canada has the geological endowment to be a major alternative supplier, but the challenge has always been building the downstream processing capacity to convert raw ore into battery-grade materials. The strategy addresses this through NRC research programs combining AI with advanced recycling and processing techniques.
Strategically, critical minerals may be Canada's most important economic lever of the coming decades. The US government has taken direct equity stakes in Canadian mineral companies (Lithium Americas), and the Canada-US critical minerals partnership is a cornerstone of North American economic security. The question is whether Canada can move fast enough — permitting timelines for new mines average 10-15 years, and the world needs these minerals now.