June 3, 2026

By Georgina Alonso, Jamie Kneen and Bonnie Campbell

Solar panels, wind turbines, and heat pumps are key technologies for the transition to a low-carbon economy. However, their production depends on minerals whose supply is limited globally. Addressing this issue is one of the main objectives of the federal government’s Critical Minerals Strategy . This strategy aims to increase mining of minerals that the government considers essential for new technologies—some of which are used in the clean energy sector—through measures such as public investment and tax relief.

The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources even stated that “Canada’s leadership in the mining sector is also leadership in the field of climate,” thus making efforts to present its Critical Minerals Strategy as a climate solution.

This strategy might seem promising for strengthening our capacity to combat climate change. However, the federal government ‘s definition of “critical minerals” is so broad that a large portion of these new resources could be used for activities that exacerbate climate chaos instead of mitigating it.

The expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and the military are just two examples. These sectors rely on some of the same minerals needed for renewable energy development. The federal government also designates them as sectors targeted by its critical minerals efforts.

Military uses are particularly likely. The government is investing heavily in strengthening Canada’s military capabilities and intends to source most of the minerals it needs for this purpose domestically . Ottawa also aims to increase defence exports by 50%.

The U.S. Department of War is also a major consumer and financial supporter of critical Canadian minerals. In 2024, the Pentagon announced an $8.3 million grant to Lomiko Metals for an open-pit graphite mine project in Quebec, which has faced strong local opposition .

The United States is also seeking to build up reserves of tungsten, used in the manufacture of munitions and vehicle armor, by investing more than 42 million Canadian dollars in Northcliff Resources’ Sisson mining project in New Brunswick and Fireweed Metals’ Mactung project in Yukon.

Moreover, the main American investor in the Torngat Metals rare earth element mining project in northern Quebec is Cerberus Capital Management – ​​a company closely linked to the current US administration and its War Department, as recently revealed by The Fifth Estate .

The expansion of military capabilities poses significant threats to the climate. First, a rapid transition to renewable energy is impossible if the necessary minerals are diverted to the manufacture and storage of weapons. Furthermore, the weapons production process is notoriously polluting.

Then there is the climate cost of military activities themselves. While data on military emissions are difficult to obtain, estimates suggest that the global carbon footprint of the military sector is greater than that of the aviation and shipping industries combined. The US military is a particularly large carbon emitter: its estimated emissions in 2022 exceeded those of 150 individual countries .

The fact that other countries may increasingly use Canadian minerals to bolster their armed forces has human rights implications that extend beyond those related to climate change. The possibility that we are contributing to wars of aggression and genocide should give everyone pause—as should the long-term social, economic, and health repercussions of the atrocities of war, which also leave survivors more vulnerable to the devastating effects of climate chaos.

We must also consider the risks to communities affected by mineral extraction or processing. Under the new Building Canada Act , the government can declare certain projects to be of national interest and limit, or even bypass, environmental assessment and Indigenous consultation requirements.

The communities on the front lines will pay the price.

We must reject the federal government’s greenwashing of the Critical Minerals Strategy and recognize the real climate threats posed by our government’s projects.

We can no longer afford to delay the implementation of concrete climate action. We must prioritize low-carbon technologies and ensure that extracted minerals support a rapid and robust transition away from fossil fuels. “Mineral sobriety”—using what we already have and extracting only what is strictly necessary, with the genuine consent of Indigenous and local communities—is our best tool for mitigating the effects of climate chaos for everyone.

What could be more in line with our national interest?