Protecting Ontario’s Critical Minerals and Energy Sector

April 25, 2025

The government has unveiled new measures to prevent foreign governments or corporations from claiming Ontario’s critical minerals or participating in the province’s energy sector. The proposed legislation will safeguard Ontario’s critical mining resources and energy infrastructure from hostile foreign actors and regimes.

Currently, there are no safeguards in place to prevent adversarial foreign governments or corporations or bad actors from claiming critical minerals or participating in the energy sector in Ontario. This means that foreign entities can stake claim to mineral-rich deposits without the intention of harvesting them for the benefit of Ontarian’s or Canadians.

The Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act will introduce measures that ensure our resources remain in the hands of Ontarians, unapologetically ensuring they benefit of Canada. If passed, the Act will:

• For the first time, empower the government to remove or suspend adversarial foreign entities from the Mining Lands Administration System (MLAS) — meaning their claim can now be revoked.
• Ensure that Ontario’s energy infrastructure is secure from foreign threats, as Ontario will now prevent state-owned enterprises from adversarial regimes from competing in Ontario procurements — to ensure we never compromise Ontario’s electricity grid and critical infrastructure networks.

This legislation is a strong response to growing concerns by CSIS over foreign influence in Canada’s resource economy. With President Trump’s tariff threat and the rising dominance of China in the critical mineral space, our government is acting to defend Ontario’s economic sovereignty and protect the resources that power our lives. 

News Releases:

En: Minerals and Energy Sector

Fr: Secteur des minéraux et de l’énergie