The Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Speaking Remarks, MPO Echo Announcement

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Good afternoon, bonjour.

I’d like to start by acknowledging that the land on which we are meeting is the traditional lands of Mattagami First Nation, Flying Post First Nation and Matachewan First Nation.

I would also like to acknowledge some special guests with us today: Chief Constant of the Mattagami First Nation, Chief Archibald of the Taykwa Tagamou Nation, Minister Pirie, Mayor Delaurier and Mayor Roberts, as well as Mark Selby and the entire team at Canada Nickel.

Thank you for your warm hospitality in Northern Ontario today. It is a pleasure to be here in Timmins — a city that has embodied the strength, resilience and know-how of Northern Ontario for generations. I know that Timmins is a mining town, hence the nickname “The City with a Heart of Gold.”

But here, beneath our feet, lies much more than rocks. Here lies the foundation of our energy, technological and economic future — the foundation upon which we are building Canada Strong.

Last week, Canada’s new government introduced our first Budget. This is not just a fiscal document. It is an economic plan, a roadmap — one that is generational in its ambition to shape our economy and our nation’s future. Because your government — and Canadians — believe in Canada.

Our plan is to protect what matters most: our people, our communities and our sovereignty. Our plan is to empower Canadians by making life more affordable, creating new career opportunities and ensuring every generation of Canadians can get ahead. Our plan is to sell more of the best of what Canada has to offer to our allies around the world. And our plan is to build right here at home: stronger industries, millions of new homes and new nation-building infrastructure.

This is how Canada competes and wins.

Which brings me to why we are here today.

In an era defined by geopolitical uncertainty and shifting trade, my number-one priority is making Canada an energy and natural resources superpower.

That is why I have been working with the Prime Minister; provinces, territories and municipalities; industry; and Indigenous communities to find the best energy and resource projects this country has to offer and get them built.

The new Major Projects Office is central to that work, and it is work that is happening with the urgency this moment requires.

This morning in British Columbia, Prime Minister Carney announced the next round of major projects that will be referred to the Major Projects Office — the next major milestone in our ambition to build a stronger, more sovereign and globally competitive Canada.

These projects include:

• Ksi Lisims LNG;
• the North Coast Transmission Line;
• the Northwest Critical Conservation Corridor;
• the Sisson mine;
• Iqaluit Nukkiksautiit Hydro;
• the Nouveau Monde Graphite mine; and, of course,
• Canada Nickel’s Crawford Nickel mine, right here in Northern Ontario.

You will notice four of those seven projects relate to critical minerals, along with the inclusion of the Foran mine, Red Chris mine and the Critical Minerals transformative strategy in the first tranche announced in September. That focus on critical minerals mining and value-added processing is not an accident, just like the host of new and expanded measures to support mining in Budget 2025 was not an accident.

We are laser-focused on leveraging the minerals beneath our feet to make Canada a global leader in mining and value-added processing, working with trusted international partners to strengthen supply chains; reduce dependencies; create new career opportunites; and ensure access to the mineral resources essential for clean energy, advanced manufacturing and defence. We are focused not only on extraction but also on processing, smelting and other midstream facilities — assets that are also nationally strategic.

The Crawford Nickel Project is a perfect example of a nation-building project that checks these boxes. Only 42 kilometres north of here, the Canada Nickel Company is developing a mine with a projected lifespan of more than 40 years and the potential to become one of the top ten nickel producers in the world.

Not only that, but the project’s carbon emissions are estimated to be nearly 90 percent lower than the global average, with the potential to have a net-negative carbon footprint. 

Thanks to enabling investments, including $6.8 million announced under Natural Resources Canada’s Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund, this project positions Canada as a global leader in low-carbon mining and metals. It will strengthen Canada’s supply of clean, high-grade nickel for batteries and steel while also creating thousands of good-paying jobs right here in Timmins and supporting many others in surrounding communities and industries.

Further, Canada Nickel is also planning an expansion to commence once mining operations have started that will expand operations to produce other metals like iron, cobalt, platinum, palladium and chromium. There are also plans to develop a nickel refinery for the stainless steel and electric vehicle markets, as well as a stainless steel and alloy production facility.

Critically, Indigenous Peoples will be equity partners in the project with the signing of agreements with Mattagami, Matachewan and Flying Post First Nations. Taykwa Tagamou Nation is also investing $20 million in the Crawford mine — a move that will give it a meaningful ownership stake in the project.

I will take a moment on the other two mines referred to the Major Projects Office today as well.

Because, while every project is uniquely important, we are not just taking a project-by-project approach. We are envisioning portfolios, corridors and clusters whereby entire new industries and supply chains are built across the country.

Turning to the next project of national interest, Northcliff Resources’ Sisson project. After our last tungsten mine closed ten years ago, this is an opportunity for Canada to revitalize our tungsten production — an important critical mineral with a variety of industrial applications, in particular for defence — which could be crucial in meeting our NATO spending target.

And as for Nouveau Monde Graphite, the company is developing a graphite mine that will be integrated with a battery material plant, bolstering the emerging battery hub in Bécancour while potentially unlocking future graphite opportunities across Canada.

Just two weeks ago at the G7 Energy and Environment Ministerial Meeting, I announced a Government of Canada offtake agreement with Nouveau Monde Graphite as one of 26 deals under the Critical Minerals Production Alliance — testifying to the national importance of graphite.

Today’s referrals build on Canada’s Critical Minerals Strategy, led by my department, which is strengthening critical minerals supply chains essential to the defence and economic security of Canada and our allies.

The Strategy also looks to advance regions with significant critical minerals potential, such as Northwest British Columbia, which is being added as a strategy of national interest under the Northwest Critical Conservation Corridor. We can expect more such transformative strategy announcements in the future.

As I just mentioned, the referral of these projects also follows my recent announcement of 26 new investments, partnerships and measures to accelerate $6.4 billion in critical minerals projects in support of two Canada-led G7 initiatives: the Critical Minerals Production Alliance and the Critical Minerals Action Plan.

Budget 2025 further bolsters these efforts by introducing several initiatives to accelerate development of Canada’s critical minerals sector:

• A new, $2-billion Critical Minerals Sovereign Fund that will make strategic investments in critical minerals projects and companies through equity investments, loan guarantees and offtake agreements;
• A new First and Last Mile Fund that will be combined with the existing Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund to provide $1.5 billion in support for the development of critical minerals projects and processing facilities with a focus on getting near-term projects into production and minerals to market;
• An investment of $443 million under the Defence Industrial Strategy for the development of innovative critical minerals processing technologies, supporting joint investments with allies in Canadian critical minerals projects and to develop a stockpiling mechanism to strengthen national security and that of our allies;
• And expanding the coverage and eligibility of key tax incentives, like the Clean Technology Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit and the Critical Minerals Exploration Tax Credit, to help de-risk projects and move them into production faster.

Canada’s Critical Minerals Strategy — which has also been referred to the Major Projects Office as a potentially transformative opportunity for our nation — will continue to guide our approach to developing resilient and secure domestic and allied value chains, with select projects being referred to the Major Projects Office to build critical new infrastructure at speeds not seen in generations.

But to turn our minerals into real opportunities — whether that is in batteries, electric vehicles, or clean technology and manufacturing, it takes more than minerals: it takes energy.

Our energy and electricity demand is forecast to double over the coming decades to enable an electrified economy; and provide access to the power that businesses around the world are looking for — from AI data centres, to manufacturing, to steel and aluminum and batteries.

Moreover, the demand is specifically for power that is not only affordable and reliable but also low-carbon.

Fortunately, Canada has a wealth of energy resources that make our electricity grid one of the cleanest in the world already — an advantage we can build on to make Canada an energy superpower.

From hydroelectric dams to nuclear plants to long-distance transmission lines, building new sources of electricity and interties that connect our regions and industry to one another is a generational endeavour across Canada — something that is, without a doubt, nation-building.

That is why the first wave of projects referred to the MPO in September included the Darlington New Nuclear Project and identified the Eastern Energy Partnership as a transformative strategy for further development.

And today, this new round features the North Coast Transmission Line: a critical link that can bring more power to communities in B.C. and enable industrial development that could unlock major mining operations in northern British Columbia and support the electrification of Ksi Lisims LNG, which is also being referred today to the MPO.

Finally, we are also referring the Iqaluit Nukkiksautiit Hydro project to the Major Projects Office, which will enable Nunavut’s capital to transition from diesel to non-emitting electricity. Not only is this significant for reducing pollution and ensuring energy sovereignty, it will also attract and support new businesses for the citizens of Iqaluit, opening up opportunities that were previously thought impossible. It will become Nunavut’s first 100 percent Inuit-owned hydro energy project — a milestone in Indigenous leadership and clean energy innovation.

I hope it is clear that the projects I am highlighting today are not isolated efforts. They are part of a larger story: the story of a nation building for the future. The story of a nation being its own best customer first and choosing for itself its best international customers second.

What we are witnessing — through the Major Projects Office, Budget 2025 and the efforts of Team Canada coast to coast to coast — are the first signs of a major economic transformation that will define the next generation.

Canada has always been proud of its pioneering spirit. But now, more than ever, we cannot look back in nostalgia.

There is no place for withdrawal, ambiguity or even standing still. Only for bold and swift action. To weather the storm of uncertainty, we will not lower our sails — in fact, we will raise them. We will catch the winds of economic change and seize them for ourselves.

That means making generational investments and decisions that go beyond election cycles and quarterly reports. It means catalyzing both public leadership and private investment. And it means being relentless in order to position Canada’s economy to be the strongest in the G7.

Merci beaucoup. Thank you.