Justin Trudeau visiting rare earth elements processing plant in Saskatoon Monday
CBC
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be in Saskatoon Monday to visit a rare earth elements processing plant.
Lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt, copper and the group of 17 metals and minerals known as rare earth elements are being prioritized for investments in exploration, production and processing as part of Canada's critical minerals strategy, announced by Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson last month.
Critical minerals were also among the issues Trudeau, U.S. President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador discussed during their summit last week in Mexico.
In 2020, the World Bank predicted that demand for critical minerals — dozens of metals and minerals like lithium and copper that are used in batteries and clean energy generation — will soar 500 per cent by 2050.
Canada is not a commercial producer of rare earth elements, though it does have some of the largest-known deposits.
Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark will be present for Trudeau's tour of the processing plant and the prime minister is scheduled to speak to media afterward.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe released a statement Monday welcoming the prime minister, but saying the visit is "disappointing, but not surprising."
Moe said the provincial government has been advocating for more investment into this area of natural resource development, but alleged his government was not made aware that Trudeau was visiting.
The visit is unsurprising in the wake of Trudeau's visit with the U.S. and Mexican leaders because, "our province is a global leader in critical minerals and rare earth elements," Moe's statement said.
Moe pointed out that he led a delegation in Washington, D.C., last month to discuss ways to partner with the United States to provide "elements required for North American energy security."
The Rachel Notley government's consumer carbon tax wound up becoming a weapon the UCP wielded to drum the Alberta NDP out of office. But that levy-and-repayment program, and the wide-ranging "climate leadership plan" around it, also stood as the NDP's boldest, provincial-reputation-altering move in their single-term tenure.