A World Leader in Mining
As a producer of more than 60 minerals and metals with more than 200 producing mines; 50 nonferrous smelters, refineries and steel mills; and nearly 7,000 sand and gravel pits and stone quarries, Canada is truly one of the world’s mining nations. Canadian cities such as Toronto and Vancouver provide regional bases for supporting mining and allied industries through financial and other service sectors. While Vancouver is also home to the world’s largest cluster of exploration companies,the city of Toronto is a major global hub for mining financing.
Investment
Longstanding democratic institutions and rules of law underpin a solid, stable, and secure economy. Add to these a strong commitment to transparency, clear regulations and governance, a solid economic framework, and an ease of doing business—these are the reasons why Canada is one of the top destinations for exploration and mining investment.
Add to this foundation a diverse and rich endowment of mineral resources, ongoing investment in public geoscience, a favourable tax regime, fiscal measures to encourage exploration and mining activity, world-class mine operators and suppliers of equipment, professional services and expertise in mine financing, and a commitment to sustainable resource development—indeed, Canada is more than a leading jurisdiction for mineral development, it is also a leader in exploration and mining around the world.
Since 2002, Canada has ranked 1st in non-ferrous mineral exploration budgets.
In 2015, Canada remained the world’s top destination for non-ferrous mineral exploration, attracting 14% of budgets expenditures.
In 2014-2015, over 40 companies from 13 countries invested in Canada’s mining sector.
Open economy and market principles
Canada maintains an open economy, based on respect for the principles and recognition of the effectiveness of the marketplace.
Through numerous free trade agreements, Canada enjoys mutually beneficial duty-free access to leading economies across the globe. Known for its reliability as a trading partner, Canada is ready to meet the minerals and metals demands of the world’s increasingly integrated value chains.
The Canadian mining industry is a major employer. About 375,000 people have jobs in the mining processing industry with the average annual wage of 100,000$.
Competitive mineral taxation
Canada has the lowest overall tax rate for new business investment among the G-7 countries with corporate tax rates as low as 15% at the federal level and varying from 10% to 16% at the provincial and territorial level.
The federal government and provinces/territories also offer a variety of mining sector-specific fiscal incentives, such as unique and innovative flow-through shares (FTS), to help mitigate the risks associated with mineral exploration.
Clear and consistent regulations
Canada’s stable federal system and clearly defined roles and responsibilities for provincial and territorial jurisdictions add to the transparency and predictability that make it an attractive destination for mineral development. Canada is committed to continuously monitoring and improving its regularity system.
Infrastructure to deliver the goods
According to the World Bank, Canada has one of the world’s best logistics infrastructures,3 including ports and railways. With a multimodal infrastructure system, the Canadian transportation advantage includes natural deep-water harbours—some are ice-free year-round—low port dwell times, fast transit times, and efficient border and security processes.
Driving innovation and clean technology
The Canadian government works to accelerate the pace of innovation in mining through a number of programs that encourage collaboration with private sector companies.
Foreign mining firms can take advantage of Canada’s expertise through research, development and deployment (RD&D) programs and collaborations with Canadian-based research organizations. Canada has centres of excellence,research institutes, specialized university and college programs, and several provincial, territorial and national associations that support the implementation of innovative practices within the exploration and mining sector.
Canada’s Trade Advantage
With the conclusion of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) in September 2014 and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement in October 2015, Canada will have free trade agreements (FTA) with 51 countries. Once implemented, CETA, TTP and our existing FTAs will create favourable trade conditions with more than 60% of the global economy.
In this context, Canada has the potential to become the only G-7 nation with free trade access to the United States, the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region.
