Economic impact of Ontario’s critical minerals providing optimism

Amid the U.S. trade war, a report outlining the state of the Ontario mining sector and its role in the provincial economy is providing optimism.

Fresh off the heels of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada’s conference, the Ontario Mining Association has released some staggering results about the sector.

According to the mining association, Ontario’s domestic mineral exports were $64 billion in 2023, with $42 billion going to the U.S.

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The report on the state of the Ontario mining sector draws on the most recent data available and highlights the industry’s strategic role in the provincial economy.

The sector contributes almost $24 billion of Ontario’s GDP and employs 22,000 people directly and 126,000 indirectly.

Economic optimism

It’s that major role that has some people optimistic that the province’s trading partners will recognize them as valuable to continental security.

Despite tariffs imposed by the U.S., the industry remains bullish that it can weather the trade uncertainty industries are facing across Canada.

“Uncertainty is never good for any sector and mining is part of that and uncertainty on many fronts can cause all sorts of issues in terms of long-term pricing,” Ontario Mining Association President Priya Trandon said in an interview.

In-demand critical minerals are giving both Canada and Ontario a huge strategic advantage, she said.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said those minerals could be used as a bargaining chip in the trade war with the U.S.

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“Guess what, if we have to stockpile that nickel here ... and shut down your manufacturing, your military, I’ll do it in a heartbeat,” Ford said March 4.

It’s a move Tandon is calling strategic.

“I think our members and myself know that the premier’s got to do his job,” she said.

“He’s ensuring that Canada and Ontario are not a pushover.”

• WATCH Trandon’s full interview:

Continued growth expected

One company so far unphased by the tariffs is IAMGOLD with operations at the Côté Gold Mine in Gogama, between Sudbury and Timmins.

It is expected to increase to about 700 jobs later this year.

“A lot of it is ‘stay the course and see how things work,’” said Bryan Wilson, IAMGOLD’s vice-president and general manager.

“We’re also working in the background, identifying who our U.S. suppliers are, reaching out to them and seeing if they can work with us on this.”

Wilson said the company is working behind the scene to understand what the trade war means to its bottom line.

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Work to eliminate interprovincial trade barriers also has them encouraged.

“We’re doing the market research that we need to, but, as well, we’re continuing hiring and we’re continuing our growth project here,” Wilson said.

“We’ve got an 18-year mine life in front of us.”

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The full, raw interview with the Ontario Mining Association president can be found in the video playlist above.