Canada slips in mining rankings, but is still home to 2 of world's top 10 most attractive jurisdictions
Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador are among the top 10 jurisdictions in the world for mining investments, according to an annual report released Tuesday by a Canadian think tank.
Finland ranks as the most attractive jurisdiction for mining investment, followed by four states in the United States, according to the Vancouver-based Fraser Institute’s Annual Survey of Mining Companies.
“Overall, we see there’s significant room for improvement in the policy environment (in Canada),” said Elmira Aliakbari, director of natural resource studies at the Fraser Institute and one of the report’s authors.
About 350 mining professionals responded to the survey, which was conducted between August and December last year, and they were asked various questions about taxation regimes, environmental protections, labour availability and other topics.
About 40 per cent of the respondents worked for exploration companies, 32 per cent for mining companies and the remainder identified as consultants or as other.
Last year, four Canadian provinces ranked amongst the world’s top 10 jurisdictions, compared to only two this year: Saskatchewan was seventh and Newfoundland and Labrador was eighth.
Aliakbari said the decline is mainly due to policy uncertainty, particularly around environmental protections and disputed land claims with indigenous groups.
For example, Saskatchewan dropped to seventh on the overall “Investment Attractiveness Index” after ranking third in 2024 and second in 2023. The report said “respondents expressed increased concerns over the province’s taxation regime, regulatory duplication and inconsistencies, and uncertainty concerning environmental regulations.
Ontario dropped in the rankings for the second year in a row, to 15th from 10th last year, because of increased concerns about its taxation regime, labour regulations and political stability.
Quebec had an even bigger drop, to 22 from fifth last year, because of increased concerns over taxation, regulatory duplication and its legal system.
Aliakbari said British Columbia has “significant room for improvement” even though it moved up in ranking to 12th from 25th last year. That’s because it has geological potential that it isn’t fully realizing, she said.
Similarly, she said Yukon scores well when assessing its geological potential, but that’s not necessarily reflected in its overall investment ranking of 24th because there’s a poor perception of its policy environment.
“It means these jurisdictions have failed to capitalize on their mineral potential,” she said.
Canadian provinces aren’t the only jurisdictions that moved down. Last year, Utah was tops, but it dropped to 11th, with respondents citing increased uncertainty over disputed land claims as well as trade barriers.
The Republic of Ireland ranked highest in terms of how mining professionals perceive its policy environment, but a comparatively lower ranking on its geological potential put its overall investment ranking at No. 23.
Finland ranked second on policy perception, which, when combined with a strong geological potential, placed it first in the overall investment ranking.
Since the survey ended, Mark Carney has been elected Canada’s prime minister, and the federal government as well as several provinces have passed legislation that could accelerate the timeline and regulatory requirements for major projects such as large mines. Aliakbari said those changes could be reflected in next year’s report.
For now, she said, respondents, broadly speaking, continued to cite policy uncertainty around environmental protections, disputed land claims and taxation as major barriers to making more mining investments in Canada.
“We see investors continue to cite policy uncertainty as a key deterrent,” Aliakbari said.
• Email: gfriedman@postmedia.com