EventStatement
Energy Minister Hodgson calls US government stakes in two Vancouver-based miners "capitalism in action"; Canada unlikely to object
At a news conference in London, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said the US stakes in Trilogy Metals (a 10% stake, for its Alaska projects) and Lithium Americas (Thacker Pass, Nevada) were "small minority investments" in firms with US projects: "The fact that an ally of ours chooses to make an equity investment into a Canadian company whose sole asset is in the United States, I don't think that bothers us at this time... I think that's capitalism in action." He added that the Investment Canada Act lets Ottawa act if a deal is not a "net benefit" to Canada. Reported by Bloomberg News.
- Date
- Kind
- Statement
- Where
- Canada
- Evidence
- Statement: Something was said. Weighted lowest: words cost less than actions. How evidence is weighed
- Who
- United States federal government (subject); Tim Hodgson (spoke)
Sources
- MINING.COM, “Canada signals approval of US govt stakes in mining firms (Bloomberg syndication)” (external site), . source record
- Bloomberg, “Canada Signals Approval of US Government Stakes in Mining Firms” (external site), . paywalled source record
Claims that rest on this event
- All US ownership found in Canadian build-out assets is private, not government. US government stakes exist only in Vancouver-based companies whose mines are in the US (Trilogy Metals in Alaska, Lithium Americas in Nevada). Churchill Falls is closed to US capital.
Ottawa does not treat the stakes as a threat.
How it bears on the outcome
| Explanation | Fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| O0 No meaningful speed-up | Neutral weak | A minister's comment on US stakes in firms whose assets are in the US says nothing about the pace of Canada's own build-out. |
| O1 Faster, but the extra output goes mostly elsewhere | Neutral weak | The projects are in Alaska and Nevada, so the remark bears on neither destination reading for Canadian output. |
| O2 Faster, and more volume reaches the US (this level or higher) | Neutral weak | The projects are in Alaska and Nevada, so the remark bears on neither destination reading for Canadian output. |
| O3 Locked-in preferential terms for the US | Neutral weak | Tolerating US equity in Canadian-headquartered firms is loosely consistent with US ownership, but the assets are in the US and the minister kept the net-benefit test in reserve, so it does not bear on Canadian supply. |