Canadians say losing sovereignty over critical minerals is a bigger risk than slow development

Teck Mining Company's zinc and lead smelting and refining complex is pictured in Trail, B.C., on Monday November 26, 2012. Teck Resources says a fire at its zinc plant in Trail, B.C., has shut down one of the plant's four sections, but the other three remain in operation as it investigates the cause of the "localized" blaze. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Canadians are uneasy with foreign ownership of Canada’s critical minerals, according to a new poll from the Angus Reid Institute.

The poll finds that three in five Canadians want Ottawa to prioritize domestic investment in critical resources like oil and gas, copper, nickel and other strategic minerals even if it potentially stalls development.

They say losing sovereignty over these resources is a bigger threat than missing out on development and jobs because of a lack of investment.

This comes after Prime Minister Mark Carney has made the expansion of critical resource projects a national priority amid sovereign threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Nearly two weeks ago, he added three critical mineral extraction projects to his growing list of nation building projects, which represents more than $56 billion in new investment.

Limit foreign investment

The federal government recently delayed a proposed acquisition of one of Canada’s largest mining companies, Teck Resources, with U.K.-based miner Anglo American PLC.

This is in line with the broader public sentiment, according to the poll, which shows that three in five Canadians say Canada should limit foreign investment. Only a quarter said they would generally welcome it.

The government is pushing for the $70 billion merger to be legally domiciled in Canada, with Industry Minister Mélanie Joly saying Ottawa wants to see longer-term commitments to Canada if the merger can go forward.

Which countries do Canadians want to ban from ownership?

A number of countries are seen as unacceptable owners, according to the poll.

Countries at the top of the list are already under global embargoes. The poll showed about 69 per cent of Canadians would restrict Russian ownership, 67 per cent would restrict North Korean ownership, 60 per cent would restrict Iran and 59 per cent would restrict China.

A third of Canadians also said they would bar the U.S. from investing in Canada’s critical resources.

Canada’s challenges in scaling and production

Canadians are divided on how new developments should be funded, according to the poll.

Thirty one percent favour public-private partnerships. A quarter want governments to rely on grants and tax breaks to attract investment. Eighteen percent say provincial and federal governments should fund the projects directly.

Last month, Canada announced 25 projects under a G7 critical minerals production alliance created to combat China’s dominance in the sector.

Projects include agreements for a Quebec graphite mine and investments for a rare earth elements refinery in Ontario.

The federal budget released earlier this month outlines a plan for a $2 billion “critical minerals sovereign fund” over five years.

The fund will be used to absorb the existing $1.5 billion critical mineral infrastructure fund, over three years to support critical minerals infrastructure.

The budget also commits to $371.8 million over four years for upstream and midstream critical mineral projects.

A dozen critical minerals added to the exploration tax credit list will also speed up mining projects.

Methodology

The Angus Reid Institute conducted an online survey from Oct. 25 to 27, 2025, among a randomized sample of 1,607 Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum.

The sample was weighted to be representative of adults nationwide according to region, gender, age, household income, and education, based on the Canadian census. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/- 1.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

The survey was self-commissioned and paid for by ARI. Detailed tables are found at the end of this release. For more information on our polling methods, click here.