Canada is unlikely to object to US government investments in two Vancouver-based mining companies, Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said, describing the deals as “capitalism in action.”
The Trump administration announced last week that it would take a 10% stake in Trilogy Metals as part of a $35.6 million investment to boost critical minerals projects in Alaska. The US also recently agreed to acquire an interest in Lithium Americas Corp., which is developing the Thacker Pass lithium project in Nevada.
The federal government has rules under the Investment Canada Act for acquisitions by state-owned entities, and Canada’s industry minister has said the government will evaluate deals on a “case-by-case” basis.
But Hodgson said Thursday the US stakes are “small minority investments” in firms with US projects.
“The fact that an ally of ours chooses to make an equity investment into a Canadian company whose sole asset is in the United States, I don’t think that bothers us at this time,” he said at a news conference in London, where he was promoting critical minerals and energy deals.
“I think that’s capitalism in action. If they’re interested in doing that, that’s up to them.”
If a country acts in a way that isn’t a “net benefit” to Canada, then the Investment Canada Act allows the government to address that, Hodgson added.
US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and repeated remarks that Canada should become the 51st US state have angered many Canadians, helping to propel Hodgson’s Liberal Party to an election win earlier this year. During the campaign, Prime Minister Mark Carney repeatedly warned that Trump was trying to “break” Canada so he could “own” the country.
Since then, Carney has softened his approach, removing many retaliatory tariffs against the US and holding two friendly meetings with Trump in the White House. Canadian negotiators remain in Washington, pushing for relief from steel and aluminum tariffs, while the impact of auto tariffs was underscored this week as Stellantis NV shifted some Canadian production to the US.
Hodgson stood by his use of the word “ally” to describe the US.
“Our two countries have been allies for many, many, many years. We have had our differences of opinions at various points in time. We’ve had our trade frictions at various points in time,” he said. “We are very hopeful that we can get through this difficult time and we can resume the type of relationship that we’ve had with the Americans for a long, long time.”
During his recent White House visit, Carney raised the prospect of reviving South Bow Corp.’s Keystone XL pipeline project to the US. Hodgson said Thursday the Trump administration is very interested in energy security.
“What we shared with the Americans is to the extent that they want to talk about a shared North American energy security, in conjunction with shared North American views in some of the other affected areas of our negotiations, we’d be very open to that,” said Hodgson, a former investment banker at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
“If that means sharing some of our oil, we we’re not hung up on a particular route. If the Americans want to explore a particular route and it’s part of those larger discussions, we’re open to that.”
(By Laura Dhillon Kane)
I like how you kept it informative without being too technical.
You write with so much clarity and confidence. Impressive!