Country Profile – Canada

This report provides a comprehensive profile of Canada's mining sector, detailing its geological reserves, industrial infrastructure, economic contributions, and the regulatory frameworks governing critical minerals. It highlights Canada's strategic focus on sustainable critical mineral production and the challenges of energy and logistics in northern regions.

• Canada has implemented a comprehensive Critical Minerals Strategy (CCMS) supported by significant federal funding. The 2022 federal budget allocated CAD 3.8 billion for the CCMS, and the 2025 budget added a CAD 2 billion Critical Minerals Sovereign Fund, a CAD 371.8 million First and Last Mile Fund for supply chain infrastructure, and an expanded Critical Minerals Exploration Tax Credit covering 12 additional strategic metals.
• The mining industry contributes 5% of Canada's GDP, with a significant portion of this value coming from non-mining support sectors. Approximately 60% of the mining sector's GDP contribution is derived from indirect services (including mine finance), downstream activities, and processing/refining.
• Canada's mining logistics are highly developed in the southern urban-industrial corridor, but northern regions face significant challenges. Northern sites often lack reliable electrical grid integration and rely on diesel, fossil fuels, or hybrid generators, as renewable energy technologies are not yet economically viable at scale in these extreme weather conditions.
• Canada maintains a strong trade relationship with the United States, though it faces potential risks from U.S. protectionist policies. While the United States–Mexico–Canada Trade Agreement has largely prevented reciprocal tariffs, U.S. investigations into whether critical mineral imports threaten national security could trigger Section 232 tariffs.
• The Canadian mining sector is characterized by large- and medium-scale operations, with artisanal and small-scale mining being limited. The most notable artisanal activity occurs in Yukon, specifically regarding small-scale placer gold extraction.
• Women's representation in the Canadian mining, quarrying, and oil and gas industries has fluctuated, increasing from 15% in 1987 to 19% in 2020, before falling to 16% in 2023. Participation rates vary by ethnic group, with women making up 17% of the Indigenous, 22% of the immigrant, and 27% of the visible minority mining workforce.
• Mining regulation in Canada is shared between federal and provincial/territorial jurisdictions, with the latter predominantly handling regulation. There is no federal mining code; instead, federal authorities manage matters such as Indigenous rights, trade, and the environment, while provinces like Ontario use specific legislation such as the Ontario Mining Act.

APA

Hamisi, J., Rezola, O. A., Madi, D., Bellois, G., Ramdoo, I., Gottschalk, E., & Gulley, A. (2026). Country Profile – Canada. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2026-02/country-profile-canada.pdf

Chicago

Hamisi, Jonathan, Ottavia Austin Rezola, Dalia Madi, Grégoire Bellois, Isabelle Ramdoo, Erin Gottschalk, and Andrew Gulley. Country Profile – Canada. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2026. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2026-02/country-profile-canada.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{hamisi2026country, author = {Hamisi, Jonathan and Rezola, Ottavia Austin and Madi, Dalia and Bellois, Grégoire and Ramdoo, Isabelle and Gottschalk, Erin and Gulley, Andrew}, title = {{Country Profile – Canada}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2026}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2026-02/country-profile-canada.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }