Report highlights scale of Ontario mineral exports as tariffs threaten trade relation

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As the U.S. imposes tariffs on all Canadian goods, a new report is highlighting just how much Ontario’s mining sector exports to the country.

The report from the Ontario Mining Association and the provincial government shows the industry exported $42 billion in minerals to the U.S. in 2023, making up about two-thirds of the $64 billion in global mineral exports from Ontario that year.

The scale of the sector means it made up a quarter of all goods exports from the province in 2023, while the report finds the sector contributed almost $24 billion to Ontario’s GDP, or three per cent of the province’s total.

Ontario Mining Association president Priya Tandon says the numbers show the importance of the industry, while she also called for more focused efforts to help it grow.

She says mining should be a strategic priority for the province, especially in areas like critical minerals as trade tensions rise.

Tandon says the U.S. depends heavily on mineral imports from Canada, including for critical minerals.

The report says 57 per cent of Ontario’s critical minerals exports, including platinum group metals, nickel, copper and uranium, went to the U.S. in 2023.

“The U.S. depends so highly on Ontario in particular when it comes to nickel and copper, so there’s much that can be done there with the U.S. to strengthen us at home.”

The U.S. only has a single nickel mine, in Michigan, and production is exported to Canada and elsewhere for smelting. The U.S. mine produced 8,000 tons of nickel concentrate last year, while the U.S. imported 100,000 tons, with 46 per cent coming from Canada according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Monday threatened to cut off nickel exports to the U.S. as part of retaliatory measures.

While the U.S. relies on Canadian imports, the industry in Ontario is also going to face cost pressures from the tariffs and retaliatory measures, said Tandon.

“Because the sector is so deeply integrated with the U.S., that means input costs are going to go up. That means, you know, tools, equipment, things like ventilation on demand, specific technologies, the cost of all the material inputs into that, are going to go up.”

The trade tension shows the importance of diversifying Canada’s trade partners, not just to substitute the U.S. but add to relations.

The tariffs will also mean it will be more challenging to compete for investment, making government supports more important, said Tandon.

“It’s definitely going to be tough, especially because many of our companies are competing for investment globally. They’re global companies, they have projects all around the world, and internally they compete for that global investment,” she said.

“So there’s many aspects I think we need to do in Ontario to strengthen the sector.”