Digging up a hidden election issue: development and control of critical minerals

At issue is whether a part of our sovereignty is about to be given up with a lopsided ‘agreement’ that gives the U.S. access to and control of Canada’s critical minerals with little to no regard for Indigenous rights and the environment.

Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, U.S. President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and U.S. Vice-President JD Vance. Critical minerals will remain high on Trump’s chaotic negotiating agenda after the April 28 election. The Hill Times photographs by Andrew Meade, Sam Garcia, Flickr, Wikimedia Commons, and illustration by Joey Sabourin

Opinion

BY KEN RUBIN

April 22, 2025

OTTAWA—One thing that United States President Donald Trump clearly wants—just like in Ukraine, Greenland, and elsewhere—is access to and/or control of Canada's largely untapped critical minerals, ingredients used in many peaceful and military modern technology applicat...

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