Canada Leads G7 Critical Minerals Alliance

The G7 will announce a critical minerals production alliance aimed at securing transparent, democratic and environmentally responsible supply chains to counter China’s market dominance, with details unveiled at the close of the energy and environment ministerial in Toronto. Canada’s Energy Minister Tim Hodgson, who led negotiations, said the pact will include deals with industry and contractual commitments such as offtake and stockpiling agreements as well as investment to bring mines and processing and refining capacity online. Officials framed the initiative as a central outcome of Canada’s G7 strategy to create more stable, secure and sustainable supplies for allies and to guard against geopolitical or economic coercion, and it focuses on creating regulatory certainty—shorter timelines, predictable policies and reliable permitting—working with provinces, territories and Indigenous partners to attract private capital. Practical measures announced include public backing for industrial decarbonization and a Microsoft-Arca offtake to deliver nearly 300,000 tonnes of durable carbon dioxide removal over 10 years, and countries such as Australia are engaging to strengthen diverse supply chains. Governments said they will rely on a mix of tools—equity, offtakes, stockpiles and investment—and industry partnerships to translate the alliance into real projects and capacity.