Ontario Launches $500M Fund Targeting Critical Mineral Processing Buildout

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  • Ontario is putting $500M behind processing capacity, pairing it with $3.1B in Indigenous-focused financing tools to pull more value-added critical minerals work into the province.

Ontario has launched a $500 million Critical Minerals Processing Fund to expand domestic processing capacity and strengthen the province’s end-to-end critical minerals supply chain.

The CMPF, announced in the 2025 Budget, will support projects that increase mineral processing output, build new facilities, and scale value-added activity intended to create high-value jobs, with an explicit focus on Northern Ontario.

Invest Ontario will deliver the program, which is framed as a processing accelerator for critical minerals including nickel, lithium, copper, graphite, and cobalt, aligning funding with minerals that sit at the center of battery, electrification, and industrial supply chains.

Regionally, the policy target is clear: Thunder Bay, Sudbury, and the Ring of Fire. The fund is pitched as a lever to convert geological advantage into processing throughput and industrial employment rather than upstream-only extraction.

A central objective is to move away from “rip and ship” practices by processing more material locally instead of exporting it unrefined, a shift designed to retain more margin and more payroll inside Ontario through downstream plants and related services.

“We are finally ending the ripping and shipping of Canada’s vast resources. This is about protecting Ontario workers and ensuring ‘Made in Canada’ is stamped on the minerals we process,” said Minister of Energy and Mines Stephen Lecce, linking the processing push to trade-risk management, including mitigating risks from U.S. tariffs

The fund is also positioned as policy-compatible with new legislation, including the Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act and the Special Economic Zones Act, which Ontario is using to signal faster infrastructure and mining approvals across the North.

Ontario is pairing the CMPF with $3.1 billion in loans, guarantees, grants, and scholarships intended to support Indigenous ownership and partnerships.