Two recent federal initiatives – the launch of the Canada Strong Fund, Canada’s first national sovereign wealth fund, and the federal government’s Defence Industrial Strategy – together signal a material shift in how mining projects may be financed, prioritized and regulated going forward. These initiatives reflect an increasingly strategic view of critical minerals as national assets, not just commodities, with implications across capital markets, project development, supply chains and governance. Cassels is focused on what mining companies and industry participants need to know about these developments and how they intersect.
Canada Strong Fund: Sovereign capital for projects of national interest
The Canada Strong Fund (the Fund) was announced on April 27, 2026 as Canada’s first sovereign wealth fund, with an initial endowment of $25 billion to be invested over three years, and a mandate to invest in major projects of national interest in partnership with the private sector. The federal government has identified critical minerals as a priority sector for early investment.
Unlike grants or tax incentives, the Fund is intended to operate as a long-term investment vehicle, with the ability to recycle returns into future projects.
The Fund will be situated within an ecosystem of federal financing and other support tools, like the Canada Infrastructure Bank, Export Development Canada, Canada Growth Fund, Business Development Bank of Canada, Canada Indigenous Loan Guarantee Corporation and other government programs, and the work of the Major Projects Office in streamlining processes for priority projects under the Building Canada Act.1
For more information on the Fund, please see the journal’s previous Cassels Comment.
What this means for mining companies
Meaningful equity participation by the federal government is now a real possibility, particularly for large, capital‑intensive critical minerals projects. Federal participation may increasingly take the form of equity investment or partnerships, not just loans, grants and tax incentives.
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