Politics · Canada · 1 day ago
Six provinces and Yukon urge Ottawa to expand mining tax credit
Six provinces and Yukon are urging Canada’s federal government to expand a tax credit for mineral exploration.
The Liberals promised during the 2025 election to make engineering and feasibility studies for critical mineral projects eligible.
These studies help smaller mining companies assess whether a discovery can become a working mine.
Companies can struggle to raise money for this work, a difficult stage the industry calls the “valley of death.”
An industry-commissioned report said 2,052 Canadian projects are in early stages and estimated that expanding the credit could add 14,000 to 34,000 jobs over 10 years.
The federal government says it has already broadened eligibility for the critical mineral credit to include 12 more minerals and introduced other support for mining.
The Association for Mineral Exploration hopes the promised expansion will be included in the upcoming federal budget.
Six jurisdictions—Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and Yukon—have backed a campaign urging the federal government to expand eligibility for the mineral exploration tax credit.
The Liberals’ 2025 election platform promised to include engineering and feasibility study costs for critical mineral projects in eligible activities.
The Association for Mineral Exploration says smaller companies can struggle to finance technical and feasibility work as projects move from discovery toward development, a period the industry calls the “valley of death.”
An Ernst & Young report commissioned by the association identified 2,052 early-stage mining projects in Canada and estimated that expanded credits could add 14,000 to 34,000 jobs over 10 years.
The report projected mining-sector spending would generate $68 billion in GDP over 10 years, potentially rising by $5.2 billion to $12.2 billion if tax breaks covered feasibility and economic viability studies.
The federal government cited other support for mining, including an expanded critical-mineral credit and a Productivity Mega Deduction, while noting that feasibility studies are excluded from certain qualifying expenses.
- Who
- Six provinces and territories, the Association for Mineral Exploration and the federal government
- What
- A campaign urging Ottawa to expand eligibility for a mineral exploration tax credit to include engineering and feasibility studies
- When
- October 10, 2026; the Liberals’ platform promise was made in 2025
- Where
- Canada
- Why
- Supporters say the change could help smaller mining companies finance studies and move projects from exploration toward production.
Association for Mineral Exploration and supporting provinces and territories
Federal government
Eligibility for study costs
Association for Mineral Exploration and supporting provinces and territories
The association and six jurisdictions want engineering, feasibility and economic viability studies included in the mining tax credit, consistent with the Liberals’ 2025 platform promise.
Federal government
The finance minister’s office said the 2025 budget amended the Income Tax Act to exclude feasibility-study expenses from expenses incurred to determine the quality of a mineral resource.
Support for mining companies
Association for Mineral Exploration and supporting provinces and territories
The association says companies can struggle to raise money for technical and feasibility work during the “valley of death,” stalling projects before development.
Federal government
The government says other measures, including an expanded Critical Mineral Exploration Tax Credit and the Productivity Mega Deduction, provide substantial support and help companies invest.
When you’re a junior mining company, you’re predominantly focused on proving your assets, right? Like, you’re trying hard to move from discovery to ultimately development when it becomes a mine
Major mining projects across B.C. continue to face financing challenges in the late stages of permitting as they prepare for development
This adds to the myriad other measures and billions more in supports the government has invested in the mining sector
This story does not have a timeline yet.
- Jurisdictions supporting the campaign
- Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and Yukon
- Early-stage Canadian mining projects identified
- 2,052
- Estimated additional jobs over 10 years
- 14,000 to 34,000
- Projected mining-sector GDP over 10 years
- $68 billion, with a potential additional $5.2 billion to $12.2 billion if the studies were covered
- Critical minerals added to tax-credit eligibility in the last budget
- 12
- Share of a mine’s assets covered by the government’s new measures, according to its spokesperson
- 65 per cent
Sources
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