ARC ENERGY IDEAS What’s Holding Back Canada’s Mining Sector?
Oct 7, 2025
Joining the discussion is Photinie Koutsavlis, Vice President of Economic Affairs and Climate Change at the Mining Association of Canada, who brings deep insights into the mining industry's landscape. She highlights the economic significance of mining, the barriers to investment, and evolving infrastructure needs. Koutsavlis delves into Canada’s role in critical minerals and compares U.S. and Canadian industrial responses. With intriguing takes on permitting timelines and China's influence on global pricing, this conversation unveils the complexities of Canada's mining sector.
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Mining's Economic Scale
- Mining contributed about $117 billion to Canada's GDP in 2023 and employs roughly 430,000 people directly.
- Minerals and metals made up $151 billion in exports, about one fifth of Canada's total exports in 2023.
Exports Are North America‑Centric but Global
- The United States is the largest buyer, taking about $83 billion of Canada's mineral exports in 2023.
- Canada still sells significant volumes to the EU, UK, China, Japan, South Korea, and India.
Transportation Bottlenecks Hurt Competitiveness
- Mining is Canada's largest rail customer and the biggest shipper by volume on rail and marine, so transport disruptions hit it hard.
- Major rail and port breakdowns in 2024 signaled reliability problems to global investors.