Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said he is starting to receive inquiries from countries about how Canada’s energy producers can fill the gap amid the Iran war, when oil and gas prices are soaring.

“The world is feeling incredibly anxious right now as a result of this weekend,” Hodgson said in an interview with CBC News. “As such, we are already seeing an increase in inquiries about how quickly Canada can expand its clean energy and conventional energy exports.”​

Hodgson declined to say which country the call was coming from, but acknowledged it could take time for Canadian producers to respond.

“LNG and oil production will not change in a matter of days,” he says.

The minister made the comments on the sidelines of an event billed as the world’s largest mining conference in Toronto. He said the threat of war and supply shocks in the Middle East highlights the need for Canada to develop its natural resources.

In his keynote address, which focused primarily on critical minerals, Hodgson said Ottawa believes these precious rocks and metals are not only important to Canada’s sovereignty, but also to the security of our allies. Additionally, the minister said they will have an impact on current trade negotiations.

Without mentioning the United States, Hodgson said the federal government was accelerating domestic mining to increase discussions and engagement with other countries.

“In trade negotiations… our critical minerals are cards in our hands, giving us an advantage in engaging with the world as it is, not as we want it to be,” Hodgson said in his keynote speech at the Canadian Prospectors and Developers Association conference.

As the minister puts it, Washington’s aggressive trade policy is “the obvious elephant in the room.” But Hodgson suggested Canada and other countries are also trying to counter China’s overwhelming control over critical minerals essential to everyday modern electronics, electric vehicles and weapons.

“For Canada and our allies, over-reliance on concentrated foreign supply chains creates vulnerabilities,” Hodgson said. “Canada offers its allies an alternative to that vulnerability.

“And Canada will never use our resources as a means of coercion.”

​Billions of dollars for critical minerals

Mr Hodgson on Monday invested billions of dollars in major mineral projects across the country and announced further spending on Tuesday.

Hodgson announced $3.6 billion in new investment in critical mineral mining and processing. That spending line includes up to $165 million for “accelerating planning, development, and capacity” across 22 domestic projects.

Following the autumn federal budget, Mr Hodgson also launched a fund to get critical minerals out of the ground and into processing facilities through the $1.5 billion First and Last Mile Fund.

The Minister also highlighted the forthcoming $2 billion Critical Minerals Sovereign Fund. The government calls the fund “the first of its kind” because it allows Ottawa to make equity investments, issue loan guarantees and enter into mining contracts with mines.

Offtake agreements allow the government to purchase a specified amount of product, providing the mine with a guaranteed buyer and minimizing start-up risk.

Mr Hodgson confirmed the fund would be launched in the spring.

“Canada is not satisfied with simply extracting value. We are determined to sustain it, grow it and ensure it benefits Canadian workers and families across the country,” said Mr. Hodgson.

Mr Hodgson said the 30 new partnerships and investments would free up $12.1 billion in mining project capital. This is the second investment under the Carney government’s Critical Minerals Alliance, launched during Canada’s G7 Presidency in the fall.

The alliance will create a buyers’ club among the G7 countries, a group of developed economies that includes the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, France, Italy and Canada.

​Canada is a mining and mineral powerhouse

These billions of dollars in funding were the backdrop to the minister’s keynote speech on Monday, where he outlined the Carney administration’s vision for the mining sector.

“This is a new era for Canadian mining, one where our resources are once again linked to our economic security, sovereignty and global influence,” he said.

Hodgson called Canada a “mining and minerals powerhouse” at home and abroad. He added that critical minerals “underpin defense systems and technologies, advanced computing, telecommunications and clean technology.”

He also said mining in the north would strengthen Canada’s current and future “Arctic sovereignty and long-term strategic presence.”

In October, Canada formally designated certain critical minerals as national security priorities under the Defense Production Act, allowing the federal government to support the mining industry by guaranteeing buyers and minimum prices.

That too We are focusing on stockpiling Two minerals: graphite and scandium.

In a foreign policy speech on Friday, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poièvre called for the creation of a new “Strategic Energy and Mineral Reserve” to store reserves “in case of war, crisis or supply disruption.”

“These reserves will strengthen Canada’s resilience and bargaining position, giving us more leverage while remaining a sovereign asset that belongs to us,” Poièvre said.