Posthaste: Canadians say hands off our resources, putting sovereignty before foreign dollars

Canadians are behind Ottawa’s push to develop critical minerals in this country, but when it comes to who will pay for it, that’s when things get sticky.

Almost 60 per cent of Canadians polled by the Angus Reid Institute consider losing sovereignty over these resources a bigger threat to Canada than “missing out on development and jobs because of a lack of investment.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney has made critical minerals used in technology ranging from electronics to cars to defence a central plank of his economic plan. Five of the 11 projects targeted by his government for fast tracking produce minerals such as

nickel , graphite and copper while another two are liquefied natural gas projects. The projects will be funded by a mixture of public and private dollars, but the majority will come from the private sector, the government has said.

Three-quarters of Canadians believe the government should have a role in funding critical resource projects, but 31 per cent favour a public-private partnership.

A quarter of respondents believe new projects should be mostly funded by the private sector.

The majority of Canadians in the poll say the government should limit foreign investment in critical resources, while 25 per cent would welcome it. But even here there are caveats.

The majority of those in support of foreign investment draw the line at fresh water, saying foreign ownership of this resource should be banned.

Many would also block foreigners from owning oil and gas resources (27 per cent), uranium (25 per cent) and potash (20 per cent).

Where the dollars come from makes a difference. Russia, North Korea, and Iran top the list of countries Canadians think should not be allowed to invest in Canadian resources, though this is unlikely anyway as these nations are not known for foreign investment.

China, however, is and in 2020 Canada blocked a Chinese state-owned mining company from purchasing a gold mine in Nunavut on national security grounds. In 2022, the federal government ordered three Chinese companies to divest from critical mining companies and in 2024 it blocked the sale of a stockpile of critical minerals to another Chinese company.

Of the Canadians polled by Angus Reid, almost 60 per cent said that Chinese companies should be banned from owning stakes in critical resource development.

But here’s a surprise. More than a third of respondents also said the United States, Canada’s long-time ally, should also be banned from investing in critical resources in Canada.

In October, the White House raised eyebrows when it announced it was

buying a 10 per cent stake in Vancouver-based Trilogy Metals Inc. and a minority stake in Lithium Americas, another Vancouver company. Industry Minister Melanie Joly has said such deals will be evaluated “on a case-by-case basis” under the Investment Canada Act.

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The GDP beat Friday is expected to keep the Bank of Canada on the sidelines this month, but economists say a closer look at the data shows the economy is still fragile.

“Growth roared back far stronger than anyone expected in Q3 — but dig deeper, and the engine still looks like it’s running on fumes,” wrote Royce Mendes, head of macro strategy at Desjardins Group.

The economy grew 2.6 per cent annualized in the third quarter, blasting past expectations of 0.5 per cent. However, gains were buoyed by a huge drop in imports which counts as increase in GDP.

Domestic demand, which economists consider a better gauge of momentum, fell — the first quarterly decline in two decades, outside of the pandemic.

An advance estimate for October also suggests momentum is fading in the final quarter of the year, with GDP shrinking by 0.3 per cent during the month.

Economists say without a sharp rebound in November, growth will be on track to miss the Bank of Canada’s forecast for the quarter.

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Today’s Posthaste was written by Pamela Heaven with additional reporting from Financial Post staff, The Canadian Press and Bloomberg.

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