Accelerating critical minerals project development: North American by necessity?

 
However, recent actions by the new administration in Washington have increased global insecurity and trade uncertainty. The Trump administration is expressly pursuing an “America-first” approach to the issue of critical mineral supply, using trade policy levers as part of a larger effort to restore the industrial and manufacturing base in the U.S., while relying on U.S.- sourced inputs to the maximum extent possible. Moreover, it is taking a transactional approach to bilateral agreements with other nations regarding access to critical minerals as part of its foreign policy engagement.

At first instance, this may be damaging to Canada’s efforts to develop its critical minerals industries. Canada’s critical minerals strategy cannot exist in a vacuum and must adapt not only to changes in the geopolitical order, but also in light of how other nations are developing and implementing their own critical mineral strategies.

However, the U.S. approach is not reflective of the current global realities involved in the processing and supply of critical minerals, nor the distribution of identified deposits for development. Current critical mineral production and processing is largely located outside of the U.S. (with a heavy emphasis on China-based or -controlled resources and processing capabilities) and future anticipated global demand significantly outstrips anticipated supply, particularly in jurisdictions friendly to the United States. A February 2025 report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) found that the U.S. is 100% import-reliant for 12 of the 50 minerals identified as critical by the U.S. Geological Survey and more than 50% reliant for another 29 identified critical minerals².

It is a geographic and geologic reality that Canada possesses an abundant endowment of critical minerals offering the possibility of affordable, stable and secure supply, and that supply chains between Canada and the U.S exist and are robust, if slightly damaged in the short term.  

We believe Canada and the U.S. still have a common economic and security interest in working together to develop a stronger and more resilient North American supply chain for critical minerals now and in the future. Cooperation must be pursued in the exploration and development of new projects and establishing new processing facilities on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border for a wide range of critical minerals. This will be a multi-decade undertaking involving both government and industry, offering mutual, long-term economic development, security and prosperity.

In order for this proposed ‘Fortress North America’ approach to the critical mineral supply chain to succeed—and for Canada to protect its own champions and industry—Canada must play its part in constructing and developing critical mineral projects and infrastructure in a timely manner. The timeline for the development of Canadian mineral projects is far too long to address the expected supply deficit, particularly with respect to minerals (including numerous critical minerals) with a less developed commodity market. Ensuring that Canadian mineral projects are developed in time to meet the pending critical mineral demand will require action on three fronts from government and private industry: (1) permitting timelines, (2) availability of financing, and (3) infrastructure and capacity building.

The Canadian Critical Mineral Strategy, along with strategies at other levels of government, acknowledges the importance of all three prongs and includes initiatives and supports to address each of them, but work remains to be done to actualize these policy initiatives. Of particular importance is updating and streamlining the regulatory process in a responsible manner—which includes the meaningful participation of Indigenous Peoples—into a single comprehensive assessment that can be completed in a reasonable amount of time and in line with expected demand.