In 2024, the mining sector contributed $112 billion to Canada’s gross domestic product.
The sector, which employs over 400,000 workers in Canada, is a key component of the national economy.
Canada produces 60 minerals and metals across 200 mines and thousands of sand and gravel pits and stone quarries, resulting in a 2024 production of more than $64B.
This week, Minister of Jobs and Families Patty Hajdu unveiled the formal launch of the Mining and Minerals Workforce Alliance.
Aligned with Canada’s Critical Minerals Strategy launched in 2025, newly formally Alliance aims to identify and advance industry-led solutions to strengthen the skilled workforce needed at all stages of producing minerals and metals amid a shift toward cleaner energy sources, according to Hajdu.
“The Alliance will serve a crucial role in ensuring that Canada’s mining workforce is well equipped to support the ambitious national infrastructure projects that will strengthen Canada and enhance our economic independence,” the federal minister remarked.
“As global demand for critical minerals accelerates … This is how we turn opportunity into growth: by ensuring Canadians have the skills needed to build, operate and grow Canada’s mining sector, turning our mineral wealth into lasting prosperity, stronger communities, and a more competitive, resilient economy,” stated Tim Hodgson, who serves as Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.
Canada’s mining and minerals sector is at “a pivotal moment,” according to Ryan Montpellier, who functions as Executive Director of the Mining Industry Human Resources Council, which will serve as the lead delivery organization for the Alliance, supported by the Mining Association of Canada.
“Demand for critical minerals is growing, new technologies are reshaping how resources are extracted,” he says.
“Canada’s mining sector is a global leader in supplying the minerals and metals needed for the energy transition,” commented Pierre Gratton, chief executive officer of the Mining Association of Canada. The Alliance “provides a valuable forum for collaboration and action, helping ensure the sector has the talent needed for growth across the mining value chain and the industry supports other sectors crucial to Canada’s economic prosperity.”
The Alliance “creates cross-sector collaboration to address workforce challenges with practical, industry-driven solutions,” according to Jered Heigh, Director of Talent Acquisition and Development for major minerals producer Cameco Corporation. “By aligning our efforts, we will build the talent pipelines needed to support growth, innovation, and Canada’s competitiveness for decades to come.”
Powered by federal funding of $81 million over five years, the Mining and Minerals Workforce Alliance is the first of six workforce alliances to be established. Others Alliances will include Energy and Electricity as well as Advanced Manufacturing and AI.