Federal Critical Minerals Funding Unearthed

The energy transition and global demand for critical minerals, and the opportunities these present for Canada, continue to be areas of focus for the Government of Canada (Canada). Building upon the release of the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy in late 2022 (discussed in our previous blog post), Canada recently announced two new funding opportunities in the critical minerals space.

Strategic Innovation Fund

To better position Canada to take advantage of the opportunity presented by the energy transition and ongoing demand for critical minerals, Budget 2022 proposed $1.5 billion in funding through the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) to accelerate investments in critical minerals projects. Additionally, Budget 2023 included another $500 million over 10 years to the SIF to support these targeted investments. On July 14, Canada announced the criteria for funding eligibility.