EIB and Canada sign deal to secure critical minerals for Europe's green transition

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Government of Canada have signed a Letter of Intent to deepen cooperation on critical raw materials, marking a significant step toward securing the minerals and metals that underpin Europe’s green, digital and defence industries, according to a release from the EIB. The agreement was signed at the PDAC 2026 mining conference in Toronto and builds on the existing EU–Canada Strategic Partnership on Raw Materials.

The move reflects growing urgency in Europe to diversify supply chains and reduce dependence on single-source suppliers for materials critical to clean energy, digital infrastructure and advanced security systems. Canada is one of the world’s leading producers of critical minerals, with large reserves, strong environmental and social standards, and deep mining expertise — making it a natural partner for the EU as it works to shore up its economic and strategic resilience. The Letter of Intent also aligns with a broader EU–Canada Joint Statement on Critical Minerals signed at the same conference.

“At a time of heightened geopolitical competition, Europe must take greater responsibility for its economic security,” said Stéphane Séjourné, European Commission Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy.

EIB Vice-President Nicola Beer added that the goal is to “translate shared principles into practical arrangements that reduce risk, support innovation and help mobilise private investment for high-standard projects” — covering everything from exploration and extraction to processing, recycling and substitution.

The Letter of Intent carries no immediate financial commitments, but it opens the door to formal institutional discussions that would allow the EIB to operate in Canada — a standard prerequisite for EIB activity outside the EU. If a framework is established, the bank could fund projects across the entire critical raw materials value chain, provided they serve EU strategic objectives and meet high environmental and social standards. European companies already active in Canada’s mining and technology sectors would stand to benefit directly.

Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Tim Hodgson, framed the partnership as an opportunity to build “secure, responsible and resilient critical mineral supply chains” that serve both economies, workers and defence industries on both sides of the Atlantic — signalling that this agreement is as much about long-term economic strategy as it is about any single investment.