Canadians are set to go to the polls this Monday. While mining policy may not be motivating voters, they are realizing the sector plays a significant role in our national economy and is central to many other policy conversations in Canada, such as the energy transition, the drive to secure a domestic supply of critical minerals and rare earth elements, and it affect jobs and economic opportunity from sea to sea to sea. The mining sector employs Canadians in every province and territory.
The Canadian Mining Journal examined the platforms of all the parties contesting the federal election, with a much more in-depth look at the two front running parties that have a chance at forming the government and implementing their preferred policies. CMJ attempted to contact both the Liberal and Conservative parties, providing them with a chance to clarify anything in their platform or add any details. The Liberal Party replied, but the reply did not address any questions. The Conservatives did not respond in time for publication.
We also spoke to the Mining Association of Canada (MAC), widely seen as a prominent non-partisan national voice for the sector. We approached MAC to ask them what policies they would prefer for the sector from all the parties. Our conversation, however, centred on the two main political parties.
One common thread between the policies promoted by both parties is the emphasis on critical minerals. For the Liberals, this is part of their promotion of clean energy projects. The Conservatives focus more on the Ring of Fire region in Ontario, but for the Liberals, the drive towards critical minerals is connected to their overall policies promoting electric vehicles, decarbonization, and more widespread electrification. Both parties are also promoting policies that respond to the U.S. tariffs and a desire for resource independence, including securing domestic critical minerals supply chain.
Permitting, permitting, and permitting
Unsurprisingly, Pierre Gratton, president of the Mining Association, kick-started the conversation with a focus on permitting reform to speed up project approvals. However, many mine policy analysts have stressed speeding up permitting, while critical, must involve bureaucracies keeping pace with timelines set on paper. In other words, expedited timelines are always better said than done.
“Both parties are committed to unblocking and speeding up major projects, especially the Conservatives. We welcome that both parties have expressed commitments to speed up the timelines,” said Gratton, reached by phone.
“However, I have heard these promises before, so I am a little bit skeptical.”
Gratton noted the Conservatives have a definite “fire in the belly” for speeding up approvals and timelines, which he said he “welcomed.”
Indeed, the Conservative platform does devote a section to unleashing Canadian resources. However, the section focuses more on the energy sector, although it includes an explicit commitment to “set a six-month approval target for decisions on resource projects,” which would include mining projects.
The Conservatives also target the Ring of Fire region in Northern Ontario. This significant project receives its own section in their platform, which some would explain by the Conservative focus on the province of Ontario. The platform reads: “Conservatives will green light all federal permits for the Ring of Fire in Northern Ontario to harvest chromite, cobalt, nickel, copper, and platinum.”
The Conservatives also included a $1 billion investment in roads infrastructure for the Ring of Fire region.
The Liberal platform does mention project approvals and timelines but is less specific about targets. It reads: “Long project approval timelines in Canada create significant investment uncertainty, hindering the rapid response needed to address today’s global economic shifts. We will prioritize funding and assessment resources for these projects on an expedited basis. (We will) speed up the approval of clean energy projects while upholding environmental rigour and Indigenous rights.”
However, the Liberals do specify more clearly how they will speed up projects. The platform reads: “It is time for the government to commit its powers, policy instruments, and fiscal capacity to speed up the review process so we can build major projects in the national interest.”
The Liberals will take the first step of working with provinces and territories and Indigenous peoples to establish a list of nation building projects that span provincial and territorial boundaries and deliver major economic and strategic benefits to Canadians. The Liberal platform is more direct in providing funding commitments to expand critical minerals and build up Canada’s critical minerals supply chain through various programs and funding commitments. The Conservatives are less inclined towards these sorts of direct investments in the sector.
The Liberal platform gives a significant nod to the “one window” project approval approach that is often touted by mining companies and mining associations. The Liberals are promoting a Major Federal Project Office that will “enable businesses to navigate regulations more quickly and with fewer redundancies. This office will uphold rigour when it comes to environmental protection and Indigenous consultation and participation.”
Finally, under the Liberal plan, the government would "require the new Major Federal Project Office to render final decisions on projects on a maximum two-year timeline, much faster than the former government’s five-year timeline. This will include where other federal decisions are required, including under the Fisheries Act, the Species at Risk Act, and other federal legislation."
The Liberal platforms also pledge that “Within six months, we will sign cooperation and substitution agreements with all willing premiers, as well as Indigenous governing bodies, allowing the federal government to recognize provincial, territorial, and Indigenous led assessments.”
The Liberal platform also gives more mention of Indigenous involvement in projects. Their platform promises to “double capacity support so more Indigenous communities can take an active role in project decisions at various stages, and to improve meaningful and immediate participation.”
The Liberal government did introduce and implement the Indigenous loan guarantee program and did double its capacity. However, the Conservatives have also committed to keeping and expanding the Indigenous loan guarantee program. Prior to the election call, the Conservatives also worked closely with the First Nations Tax Commission, a national First Nation-led public institution, in promoting a First Nations Resource Charge that was designed to "create a standardized charge system to simplify and expedite negotiation processes, be administratively efficient, and improve tax integrity and business competitiveness."
First Nations have limited access to capital for large mining projects because they lack access to property as collateral because of the constraints within the Indian Act. As such, First Nation communities and groups that wish to partner on mining projects are seen as riskier and need capital. The loan guarantee allows these First Nations to use the federal government’s good credit rating and backstop guarantee on the loan.
On assessments overall, the Liberals have pledged to maintain the existing federal Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, while the Conservatives had promised to repeal this system. This assessment body has been criticized by many within the energy sector for nebulous criteria that scuttled projects. The legislation was also ruled unconstitutional for treading onto provincial jurisdiction. Many mining companies have expressed support for the impact assessment agency, while most energy companies believed it was biased against large oil and gas projects.
Conservatives have a different approach to expediting projects through the creation of “Canada shovel ready zones.” They define these as “already permitted for construction, meaning the permits will not just take less time, but will already be completed when a company decides to build a mine, liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, or pipeline, bringing home thousands of jobs for Canadian workers and taking back control of our economy from the Americans.”
The designation of these zones involves identifying a location that makes sense for a major project like a mine. The government would make sure it is safe for Canadians and the environment. The feds would then work with other levels of government to lock down zoning and permits in advance of construction. Then, they can “offer pre-permitting before even getting an application so that permits could be published online with a checklist that businesses would have to complete in order to protect nature and people.”
Tax credits and de-risking mining projects
One area where the two parties differ is on the matter of mining tax credits. For Gratton with the Mining Association of Canada, this is one area where the Liberal platform seems more responsive to specific needs within the mining sector.
Gratton mentions how it is good that the Liberal platform allows mining companies to include more eligible expenses in mining exploration activities, such as feasibility and engineering studies. Gratton said including these taxable expenses is important, especially for junior explorers, where financing is the main challenge. Although these junior operations may have all the permits in place, they lack funding.
Gratton said: “This measure will make it easier to raise funds for both majors and juniors.”
He also praised a Liberal proposal to expand the list of critical minerals eligible for the Critical Mineral Exploration Tax Credit by expanding qualifying minerals to include critical minerals necessary for defence, semiconductors, energy, and other clean technologies.
Gratton also applauded their move to expand what is included within the clean technology tax credit and to allow companies to deduct 25% on certain types of equipment. The Liberals will also modify the Clean Technology Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit to include critical mineral mine development expenses for brownfield sites. Gratton said this was positive as the fastest way to expand critical minerals is allow existing mines to expand.
He added: “We will wait to see all the details, but these tax measures are things we have been advocating for a long time. These three tax measures being included is a big deal for us. We were gobsmacked when we saw these measures included in their platform. These are all things we included in our pre-budget submission, and we found them included now.”
Gratton found the Conservative platform less precise about tax measures that would advance mining.
Third parties as part of the conversation
The smaller parties contesting the election do mention mining, but they are not a large part as with the two front runner parties.
The NDP does not explicitly mention mining but touches on some areas of Indigenous rights that would affect mining approvals. The party’s platform reads: “We will work with Indigenous peoples to fully harmonize the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We will replace mere consultation with a standard of free, prior and informed consent, including for all decisions affecting constitutionally protected land rights, like energy project reviews. Opportunities and benefits of projects should go to the communities that want them, not the CEOs and billionaires who force them through.”
The Greens mention mining, but mostly in terms of things they do not want. Their platform lists mining under their “Green Economy” section under a heading of “Building Canada’s Clean Energy Future.”
The platform reads: “Clean technology should not create new environmental problems. Mining for critical minerals can damage land and water. We will enforce strict rules to protect the environment. We will require the consent of Indigenous communities about mining activity on their lands.”
Given the need for these minerals and metals in building electric vehicles, solar panels, and battery storage, it is interesting the Green platform does not get more into plans for expanding critical minerals.
Finally, the People’s Party of Canada platform does not make any mention of mining except within a promise to repeal Bill C-69, the piece of legislation that created the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada. Like the Conservatives, more of their platform focusing on resources and approvals addresses the energy sector more than with mining.
Mining to be focus of future government attention
In the end, it is important that those operating in the mining space understand how the various political parties are approaching mining in Canada. Canadians also need to understand the importance of mining to our national economy. The renewed focus on resource independence and the need for major projects has placed more emphasis on mining this election. The pursuit of critical minerals right now should place mining at the centre of government’s attention for decades to come.
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