Québec, Atlantic Canada, and the Start of a New Era
Outlining the region
Québec stands out as one of the world’s great mining powerhouses, and now more than ever. La Belle Province’s bedrock contains many of the critical minerals required for the energy transition, as well as the strategic materials most in demand during the world’s current moment of immense geopolitical tension. In one of Canada’s most economically productive provinces, the mining industry is a major contributor: in 2023, the industry directly contributed CA$11.3 billion to Québec’s GDP, amounting to 19% of Canada's total economic output from mining (CA$59.7 billion) and providing over 50,000 jobs, with its myriad products also used downstream for all manner of applications.
Québec’s mining industry is deeply integrated, spanning the full value chain, from deposit discovery to mineral production, equipment manufacturing and service provision – all of which are explored in detail in this report’s following chapters. The province is one GBR has explored in great detail for many years, tracking the ebbs and flows of its mining industry. In recent times, that story has seen Québec navigating the rise and fall of critical minerals – most notably lithium, which the James Bay region hosts in abundance – and benefiting from the continuous rising price of gold.
This year, GBR has expanded the focus of this annual report to include Canada’s Atlantic provinces, a region it last touched upon in detail in 2021. Though its mining activities are perhaps lesser-known globally, this region, comprising of the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, is one of both proven scale and enormous potential.
Newfoundland and Labrador is by some way its largest mining player, shipping minerals valued at a projected CA$4.6 billion in 2024. In many ways, this province’s reputation speaks for itself: it was ranked as the 8th best mining jurisdiction globally for investment attractiveness in the Fraser Institute’s 2024 survey of mining companies, and 2nd-placed in Canada behind only Saskatchewan. It boasts major, global-scale operations in iron and nickel, as well as both new and historic prospects in gold, copper and other critical metals; as well as a mining-friendly government and culture. Darren Cooke, CEO of Newfoundland-focused FireFly Metals, said: “From politicians and the community, we have been welcomed. They want mines to work, to create jobs and economic prosperity.”
"From exploration to production, activity is accelerating across the province, positioning Newfoundland and Labrador among Canada’s most promising and underexplored mining frontiers." Amanda McCallum, Executive Director, Mining Industry NL
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, meanwhile, are freshly emerging as exciting jurisdictions for exploration and near-term production potential. Both provinces offer ample gold resources; as well as their own selection of critical minerals including the likes of zinc and manganese, and important reserves of industrial materials like gypsum. Smaller and less remote than the mining regions of Québec and Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia also offer virtually unparalleled mining access, with well-developed infrastructure across their territories. In both cases, work is ongoing to renew their regulatory frameworks. Relations between industry and government are close and friendly, poised to welcome a new era of mining to make the most of the great economic opportunities on offer.
Taken together, with their reserves of materials including iron, copper, nickel, graphite, lithium, which are essential for modern industrial development; rare earths like scandium and neodymium, irreplaceable for exotic scientific and military applications; and, of course, gold, Québec and Atlantic Canada represent a treasure trove of critical, strategic and precious minerals. At a moment of business uncertainty and global trade tensions, it also boasts exceptional records of political stability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) sustainability to boot. It is a region unique in North America, and ready for the industry’s crucial role in the coming years and decades.
Opportunity amid uncertainty
All the more relevant, then, that in the first months of 2025, Canada entered something of a new era. After several decades of liberalized trade with its southern neighbor, US president Donald Trump tore up the rulebook, announcing tariffs on US imports of many Canadian goods including steel, aluminum and automotive parts. Canada, in turn, responded with tariffs of its own. Trade cooperation pivoted rapidly to trade conflict.
Furthermore, Trump remarked in February 2025 that Canada should become the US’ 51st state – a refrain he would return to regularly in the following months, up to and including his assertion in June, following a breakdown of trade talks between the two countries: “Frankly, Canada should be the 51st state, they really should. Canada relies entirely on the United States, we do not rely on Canada,” he proclaimed.
Reactions from Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, were uncompromising: “Canada’s old relationship with the US is over,” he declared in March. Adapting to this new reality, he stressed, would require Canadians to “fundamentally reimagine” their country’s economy. It was a reflection of how close the two countries’ ties had become – and how quickly they had been severed.
In the Canadian federal election that followed just weeks after those comments, Carney and his Liberal party emerged victorious, falling narrowly short of a parliamentary majority. It was an incredible turnaround for the Liberal party, which had trailed their opposition, the Conservatives, by 25 points in polling following the resignation of the long-serving but ultimately deeply unpopular Liberal prime minister Justin Trudeau in January 2025. The Liberal comeback has been broadly interpreted as an expression of support for Carney’s hard line against Trump’s aspersions, and a reaction against the threat of populism.
Carney promised bold action to address Canada’s sudden new challenges. Barriers to trade between Canada’s provinces and territories would be dissolved. New funding would be made available for infrastructural development. Key projects would have their permitting timelines accelerated. Of their own accord, many Canadian businesses began removing US products from shelves, replaced with placards reading: “Buy Canadian.” In other words, despite its exposure to an apparent level of geopolitical risk and strategic ambiguity not seen for a generation or more, Canada was seeking opportunity.
"Other jurisdictions—including the US, EU, and Ontario—have already acted to streamline permitting for critical minerals. Québec must show similar urgency." Emmanuelle Toussaint, President and CEO, Québec Mining Association
Breaking down barriers
It has been estimated that the dissolution of interprovincial trade barriers alone could boost the Canadian GDP by as much as CA$200 billion per year; a staggering figure amounting to around CA$5,000 per person in the country on average. Legislation for the elimination of trade restrictions was introduced in June 2025, with provinces beginning work to dismantle a complex web of hurdles to cooperation which have long been a drag on Canadian economic productivity. In concert with a renewed push for diversified international trade, the provincial knock-on effects of a federal-level push for reintegration and renewal look highly promising. It is especially relevant for Canada’s smaller and less economically robust provinces, which are less able to trade internationally or subsist on their own productive industries – making for an even more attractive opportunity for Atlantic Canada.
That sentiment was echoed by the mining sectors of Québec and Atlantic Canada. Maxime Guilbault, leader of PwC Canada’s Québec mining and metals practice, saw possibility for the greater nationwide integration of Canada’s mining industry in the breakdown of interprovincial barriers: “By building this kind of ecosystem, we can maximize the value of our natural resources – assets we are fortunate to possess – and drive development collectively as a country,” he maintained.
Similarly, Patrick Bertrand-Daoust, EY’s lead for mining and metals in eastern Canada, saw potential for rising Canada-US tension to spur Québec to accelerate its mining strategy: “Québec has a unique opportunity to establish itself as a leader in critical minerals while diversifying its trading relationships – especially as the US’ reliability as a partner appears to be shifting,” he contended.
"Some parts of Canada have been developing their natural resources, while others have not. Nova Scotia has been among the latter. It is time for us to step up." Tim Houston, Premier of Nova Scotia
Political figures in Canada’s eastern provinces shared similar thoughts. Tim Houston, the premier of Nova Scotia, who has set his government on a mission to kickstart economic growth by cutting red tape and attracting new industrial activity to the province, including mining, emphasized the potential for greater interprovincial exchange: “I have been very invested in removing interprovincial trade barriers. We should utilize the good trading partners we have within Canada, and trade freely within our own country,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Québec, Maïté Blanchette Vézina, the province’s minister of natural resources and forests, also saw opportunity for international export diversification: “Geopolitical events – including developments since the re-election of President Donald Trump – highlight the need for flexibility. At present, just 6% of Québec’s mineral exports go to the US, and we are strengthening ties with Europe and Asia.”
Canadian trade with the US will inevitably remain significant, thanks if nothing else to the simple reality of their proximity. However, this push for greater interprovincial trade highlights how quickly and profoundly Canadian opinion has been galvanized toward a greater distance, even if only possible in political and economic terms, from its traditional partner and neighbor. Time will tell whether Canada, and the provinces of Québec and Atlantic Canada, are able to make the most of this potential.
Article header image by Doug Gordon at Adobe Stock