Canada

GDP growth is trending downwards - from 3.4% in 2022 to a projected 1.4% for 2023, according to OECD outlooks. An extended period of reduced commodity pricing this year has put pressure on GDP owing to lower-than-expected trade gains, with natural resource industries being an important economic driver for Canada.

Although growth in construction and services has succeeded in offsetting some of the commodity pressures in the year to date, the economic outlook is somewhat bleak when considering slowing consumer spending and uncertainty surrounding the levelling effect of higher interest rates.

As many countries attempt to diversify their reliance on rare earth minerals, Canada is at the forefront with one of the Earth’s largest deposits of rare earth oxides. The Canadian authorities are pushing to advance approval processes, with projects of this scope taking an estimated five to 20 years to materialize. Canada trails behind only China in terms of volume of deposits.