Critical Minerals Executive Summit Wrap-Up

We kicked off the first event in our 2023 Executive Summit Series Thursday, March 2 with an in-depth discussion on Critical Minerals at the Rideau Club in Ottawa.

Our guests examined Canada’s strategy for developing its mineral resources and provided private sector perspectives on the next steps in advancing Canada’s brand as a sustainable supplier.

Read on for the Summit’s key takeaways!

Keynote Speaker: His Excellency David Cohen, U.S. Ambassador to Canada

Climate change is an existential threat and we have an obligation – not to ourselves, but to our children and grandchildren – to confront it.

His Excellency David Cohen, U.S. Ambassador to Canada

Key Takeaways:

• We are dealing with two particular issues: climate change and energy security.
  • Critical minerals stand as the nexus between these.
• We need to accelerate our transition to clean energy and we need critical minerals to be able to do this.
• The reality is, we don’t have enough critical minerals to power the world’s clean energy agenda. The extraction, production and recycling are not diverse enough.
  • We cannot depend on a single supplier across the world – this is key to energy security.
• China controls the critical minerals supply chain at every step, which is particularly true when it comes to refining critical minerals.
• Between the U.S. and Canada, we need to build this economy and capacity together.
• We have billions of dollars invested on both sides of the border, creating jobs, and strengthening energy security but we must do more.

Panel Moderator

• Photinie Koutsavlis, Vice President, Economic Affairs and Climate Change, Mining Association of Canada

Panellists

• Chris Doornbos, President, CEO & Director, E3 Lithium
• Scott MacKenzie, Director, Corporate & External Affairs, Toyota Canada Inc.
• Marcella Munro, Head, Government & Regulatory Affairs, Teck Resources Limited
• Saga Williams, Senior Advisor, External Relations, First Nations Major Projects Coalition

Key Takeaways:

• A blunt take by one of the panellists: Canada is not on track to produce the critical minerals supply in order to keep up with the growing demand.
  • Where does incentivization happen? It needs to come from the bottom end of the supply chain because it takes the longest and has highest risk capital.
  • There is a need to incentivize the development of the raw materials more.
• The panel emphasized the need for governments to move quickly – we are in a race for economic and business opportunities, the environment and for the energy transition.
• There are 113,000 jobs that the industry will be looking to fill to allow for the projected growth.
  • It is important to allow community membership to take up these opportunities – for example employ local Indigenous peoples for these roles.
  • If we don’t do this then we are missing out on a good, committed and localized workforce.
• Ensure that opportunities within the critical minerals field are pursued in a sustainable way for generations ahead.
  • Use an Environmental, Social, Governance and Indigenous (ESGI) framework.
• In terms of the supply and demand imbalance in the automotive industry, the supply chain is not able to support the demand.
  • Alignment is very important to this conversation – we all need to move at the same speed.
    • In the example of ramping up production of cars and batteries, the raw materials have to be there first, as well as in Canada, otherwise the country will be importing from other places.
• We need to understand that this is a global conversation – it is not just an American and Canadian concern.

Thank you to our Critical Minerals guests and presenting sponsors for being apart of this event.

We are continuing the conversations all year. Be sure to check out all of the sessions in our #ExecutiveSummitSeries!

A chance to engage in conversations that matter.

Our Executive Summit Series gives us the opportunity to take a deep dive into issues political leaders need to consider, ensuring public policies drive business success. Each event ignites insightful conversations with some of Canada’s most influential business leaders and government officials, as we strive to meet our biggest challenges: the future of people, technology, trade and climate. 

Thank You to Our Critical Minerals Event Sponsors

Thank You to Our Excellence Level Partners