Time to move on extraction, refining of critical minerals in Canada: Champagne

OTTAWA — Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne says Canada has enough critical minerals to go around for interested European trading partners but it’s time for the country to get moving on extracting the coveted resources.

Champagne is in Berlin wrapping up a European tour that included stops in London and Paris this past week where he was selling Canada as a supplier of choice across the Atlantic Ocean.

In Berlin today he delivered a keynote address to a group of Volkswagen stakeholders and held up the automaker’s investment in an Ontario battery plant as a blueprint for future industry collaborations with German firms.

Champagne told reporters in a callback from Germany that Canada can help to move European nations away from dependence on China for critical minerals.

But he says Canada must now move from exploration of critical mineral mines to extraction and refining to keep more of the value chain from Canadian resources in the country.

Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Berlin in August and signed a deal to work with Germany on future critical mineral projects to support the defence and aerospace industries.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 17, 2025.

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press