BERLIN — Canada has signed a critical minerals partnership with Germany that encourages the joint public financing of natural resources projects as Ottawa works to boost development and exports to Europe.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said for too long, key Canadian minerals such as nickel and cobalt have gone underdeveloped while China and Russia dominate the global critical minerals market.
He said Germany has become a leader in Europe with efforts to diversify away from China and Russia.
"Canada can play a role in accelerating that diversification for Germany, and for Europe," Carney said.
"These issues are only going to become more important. There's likely to be a fourfold increase in the demand for critical minerals and minerals over the course of the next decade."
Carney made the comments at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, where Carney said the two countries also aim to closely co-operate in energy, including on liquefied natural gas and hydrogen energy.
Nothing in the document is legally binding or binds Canada financially; it is designed to promote and encourage new cooperative efforts.
Carney said there's a "huge range of immediate opportunities” around critical minerals and LNG.
The prime minister said Ottawa plans to formally announce new investments in port infrastructure in the next two weeks, and pointed to port upgrades in Montreal and Churchill, Man. that will help exports of energy and mineral products.
Both countries tapped senior bureaucrats as special envoys to advance the new mining partnership. Canada's point-person will be Isabella Chan, senior assistant deputy minister for the lands and minerals sector at Natural Resources Canada, while Germany appointed Matthias Koehler, its deputy director general of raw minerals policy.
When the prime minister met with Merz in private earlier Tuesday, the two leaders also discussed the war in Ukraine.
They agreed that no decisions about the war-torn country's future should be made without Ukraine on board, the Prime Minister's Office said.
— With files from Kyle Duggan in Ottawa
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 26, 2025.
Craig Lord, The Canadian Press
