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n June, I had the good fortune to attend two meetings nearly 4,000 kilometres apart. The first was the Mining Society of Nova Scotia’s annual general meeting in Western Shore, Nova Scotia, which federal and provincial politicians attended. The second was the CIM Edmonton Branch’s Mining Under the Northern Sky event in Alberta, where Brian Jean, the provincial minister of energy and minerals, opened the event.

As many of you know, Nova Scotia and Alberta are among the seven provinces that have introduced critical minerals strategies, regulatory reforms, dedicated offices and/or investment incentives to help advance projects, strengthen supply chains and attract capital. I left both meetings with the sense that we are all rowing in the same direction.

Two common themes stood out: the need to engage and partner with Indigenous communities, and the shared concern about having the workforce needed to deliver on our opportunities.

The good news is that engagement and partnership with Indigenous communities in the regions where mines operate are increasingly seen as integral to doing business in Canada. Houston Barnaby, one of the founding partners of Indigenous Treaty Partners, gave an outstanding presentation in Nova Scotia on the legal and historical foundations of current relationships among industry, governments and Indigenous communities.

In Alberta, Indigenous-owned and operated businesses are thriving in the oil sands. From 2023 to 2025, 40 per cent of energy and related infrastructure projects in the province were majority owned by Indigenous communities, and 20 per cent were wholly owned by Indigenous communities. We still have a long way to go, but the momentum is strong and positive.

The top issue I heard at both meetings was workforce supply. Many attendees felt that young people entering the job market are unaware of how technology has transformed mining. Autonomous operations, digitalization, artificial intelligence, electrification and other advances now require skills and capabilities that differ from what many assume our sector needs. CIM and other organizations are working to change that narrative.

At the Nova Scotia meeting, Patty Hajdu, federal minister of jobs and families, introduced a new strategy to address workforce shortfalls across six Canadian industry sectors. The Mining and Minerals Workforce Alliance is the first of six workforce alliances to be established. Each shares a core mission: to identify and address pressing labour market challenges and coordinate public and private investments in skills development, creating fulfilling opportunities for Canadian workers where they are most needed to Build Canada Strong. The Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR) is accountable for managing the alliance, and CIM will collaborate with MiHR and others to deliver meaningful programs.

In 2024, CIM’s Council decided to work with MiHR and others on the Mining Needs You initiative to educate and attract people to our sector, from elementary and junior high students to high school and first-year university students. One example is the Mining Industry Experience Program (MiEX), in which first-year science, technology, engineering and mathematics students participate in a two-week paid program that introduces them to mining (see p. 40). Other programs include curriculum development for elementary and junior high schools, scholarship opportunities, and career ambassadors from our sector who meet with students to share information about mining careers. I encourage you to visit MiningNeedsYou.ca and MiHR.ca for more information.

This is an exciting time for our sector, and we all have a responsibility to support our industry so it can thrive today and into the future.