5 BIG Reasons Why Mining Makes Canada Stronger

#1 – Mining is a Major Driver of the Canadian Economy

Mining is a major driver of Canada’s economy. In 2024, the minerals sector contributed $156 billion to Canada’s nominal GDP, including $112 billion in direct impact and $44 billion in indirect impact ^[1] – accounting for 5% of Canada’s economy ^[1]. This shows how important mining is to growth, jobs, and investment across the country.

It is also a major source of employment. Canada’s minerals sector supported 724,000 jobs, including 438,000 direct jobs and 286,000 indirect jobs, in urban, rural, and remote communities ^[1]. Over the next decade, the sector is expected to need 80,000 new workers ^[4], showing it will play an important role in creating new long-term, well-paying careers for Canadians.

Mining also brings in major capital investment and supports Canada’s position as a global resource leader. In 2024, the sector invested $22 billion in new construction, machinery, and equipment, accounting for 6% of Canada's total non-residential capital investment ^[1]. Mining investment creates jobs, supports suppliers, and strengthens communities across Canada.

#2 – Mining is Canada’s Second-Largest Export

Mining is one of Canada’s most important export industries. In 2024, mineral exports were valued at $153 billion, making up 21% of Canada’s total domestic exports ^[1]. In other words, more than one in every five export dollars came from the minerals sector ^[1].

The sector has grown rapidly over the past few decades, playing an increasingly important role in maintaining a strong Canadian economy. Mining exports have more than tripled since 2003, making mining Canada’s second-largest export sector after energy ^[2]. Between 2016 and 2023, mining exports grew by an average of 10% per year as global demand for metals and minerals increased ^[2]. Demand is likely to remain strong as the world expands artificial intelligence, advanced batteries, and electrification technologies.

Mining also helps strengthen Canada’s trade balance. In 2023, metals and minerals generated a $39.3 billion trade surplus, the second largest of any sector after energy ^[2], making the industry a major source of export earnings and a key part of Canada’s economic strength.

#3 – Mining is Foundational to Rural, Remote, and Indigenous Communities

Mining plays an important role in many parts of Canada, especially in rural and remote regions. Canada produces 60 minerals and metals at nearly 200 mines and 6,500 sand, gravel, and stone quarries across the country ^[1]; many of these operations are located where other economic opportunities are limited.

The sector is also a critical employer of Indigenous Peoples, providing jobs to more than 17,300 Indigenous workers ^[1]. In fact, Indigenous Peoples make up 11% of the mining labour force, one of the highest shares of any industry ^[1]. These jobs help support incomes, skills development, and long-term opportunity in communities across the country.

Mining also creates significant business opportunities for Indigenous and local suppliers. For example, British Columbia’s mining and smelting sector purchased $3.7 billion in goods and services from 200 local and First Nations communities in 2022, working with nearly 4,000 businesses across the province ^[3]. The trickle-down economic impacts that mining operations have on the communities and regions where they operate are irreplaceable.

#4 – Mining Contributes to Canada’s Trade Diversification

Mining helps Canada sell to more than just one major market. Between 2017 and 2024, for example, Metal and non-metallic mineral products saw 74.2% growth in overseas exports, while metal ores and non-metallic minerals saw 50.2% growth in overseas exports – making the industry especially important as Canada looks to strengthen its trade relationships beyond the United States.

In 2023, more than 44% of Canada’s metal and mineral products were exported overseas ^[2]. By comparison, 93.4% of automotive exports and 80.7% of energy exports went to the United States that same year ^[2].

Trade diversification matters because, as Canadians have realized over the past few years, relying too heavily on one customer can create significant risks for jobs and the economy. With trade challenges continuing with the United States, Canada needs to diversify its trading partners by relying on sectors that are ideally positioned to reach global markets. Mining helps do exactly that by supporting a broader, more resilient export economy.

#5 – Mining is Essential to the Products We Rely On

Mining is essential to the products and technologies Canadians rely on every day. Minerals and metals make countless everyday products, from buildings, vehicles, and appliances to phones, tools, and kitchenware. Without mining, many of the products that Canadians use every day would not exist.

Mining is also vital to the technologies that power the modern economy. From batteries and electrical systems to manufacturing equipment and transportation infrastructure, mined materials are part of almost everything around us. These inputs are so common that most people rarely stop to think about where they come from.

Critical minerals are especially important. They are needed for electrification, manufacturing, national defence, and many other key industries. Simply put, mining provides the raw materials that help keep modern society running.

As the world’s largest potash producer, second-largest producer of uranium, third-largest producer of palladium, a top-five gold and platinum producer, and a top-ten producer of aluminum, lithium, cobalt, and nickel ^[5], Canada has an important role to play as a major mining supplier for domestic and international markets.

The World Needs More Canadian Mining

From jobs and exports to trade diversification and the products we use every day, mining remains one of the key industries helping make Canada stronger. Canada is home to some of the world’s most valuable metal and mineral resources, and we should be proud of the role our workers, companies, and communities play in supplying them.

By growing our mining sector, we can build a stronger economy, support Canadian families, and help power the future both here at home and around the world.

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Mining projects make Canada stronger.

The Blackwater mine is planning a major expansion in BC's interior. At opening, it employed some 900 direct and contract workers. After producing some 193,000 ounces of gold in 2025, it embarked directly on its expansion plans, starting with…
— Canada Action (@CanadaAction) August 14, 2026