Canada Miners Press PM Carney to Fulfill Promise on Tax Revamp — Update

By Paul Vieira

OTTAWA--Miners are pushing Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to fulfill his promise on revamping tax laws that would help kickstart nearly 200 rare-earth projects that are at a standstill due to financing needs.

"Canada's capital markets are not currently sufficient to address the financing gap between discovery and construction," said Todd Stone, president and chief executive for the Association for Mineral Exploration of British Columbia, in a letter to Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne. "This project advancement financing gap weakens Canada's ability to convert its geological potential into mines, supply chains and long-term economic opportunity."

Stone's letter has the support of other mining lobbying groups, regional chambers of commerce, and mining companies, such as gold producers Newmont and Agnico Eagle. This marks an attempt to persuade Canadian officials to include changes to tax laws in the 2026 annual budget plan, set for release this fall.

Carney has made resource development and the building of infrastructure projects a policy priority as he attempts to diversify trade and reduce Canada's economic reliance on a protectionist U.S. In his 2025 election-policy platform, Carney promised to accelerate exploration of rare earths, or critical minerals, through a series of measures, including expanding activities eligible for a 100% deduction that can be transferred to investors via flow-through shares.

Stone said this change would help address a financing gap that is stalling development at over 170 critical-mineral projects in Canada. A spokesman for Canada's finance ministry said the government is always looking to improve the tax system while taking into account its priorities and fiscal capacity.

Canadian officials, like Carney and Champagne, have boasted about how the country has the rare earths that other countries crave. The previous Liberal government, under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, launched a critical-minerals strategy in 2022 to accelerate their exploration and production. China dominates the global supply of rare earths, and Western nations require them for defense systems, electric vehicles and high-tech manufacturing.

Stone said in the letter that since the launch of Canada's 2022 strategy, only one rare-earth mine has entered commercial production, and only one rare-earth project has received federal environmental approval.

"Canada's mining sector continues to struggle to move projects through the development pipeline," he said.

Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 29, 2026 18:51 ET (22:51 GMT)