Released: 2026-10-08
Nominal gross domestic product attributable to the production of critical minerals
Number of jobs associated with the extraction and production of critical minerals
With the increased global demand for critical minerals, the economic impact of their production has come into focus. Canada is a key link in the critical mineral supply chain, with critical mineral production contributing $26.3 billion to the total Canadian economy in 2024, representing roughly a 0.9% share, as measured by nominal gross domestic product (GDP). In 2024, critical minerals represented 33.4% of the mineral and mining sector, as defined by the Natural Resources Satellite Accounts.
Three largest aggregations of critical minerals remain unchanged, while services grow
The largest nominal GDP shares attributable to critical mineral production in 2024 belonged to potash ($7.0 billion), prioritized critical minerals ($6.6 billion) and aluminum ($6.4 billion). Since 2019, these commodity groupings have remained the top three contributors to critical mineral GDP, but services supporting the production and extraction of critical minerals ($3.1 billion) and other critical minerals ($2.6 billion) recorded a slight increase in their share of total critical mineral GDP in 2024. Meanwhile, potash ($7.0 billion) represented a smaller portion of nominal GDP in comparison with 2022, when it reached a high of $14.7 billion. This is mostly attributable to a large positive shock to potash prices in 2021 and 2022, followed by a partial downward correction in 2023.
Chart 1 
Comparison of real and nominal gross domestic product (GDP), critical minerals, Canada
Real gross domestic product increases in 2024
Critical mineral production, as measured by real GDP, grew by 8.2% in 2024, after dipping in 2023 (-0.8%).
In 2024, every aggregation of critical minerals experienced real GDP growth, with the most notable increases coming from platinum group metals (+16.7%) and unrefined prioritized critical minerals (+13.9%; including cobalt, copper and nickel). Refined prioritized critical minerals (+9.9%) as well as services supporting the production and extraction of critical minerals (+8.6%) also experienced strong growth.
From 2019 to 2024, nominal GDP attributable to the production of critical minerals grew by a substantial amount (+42.3%), while real GDP experienced much smaller growth (+2.3%). This divergence reflects the larger volatility in critical mineral prices, with many commodities peaking in 2022, most notably potash.
Nearly 57,500 jobs attributable to critical mineral production in Canada
In 2024, jobs associated with the extraction and production of critical minerals in Canada grew by 5.4%, reaching nearly 57,500 jobs. The majority of jobs associated with the production of critical minerals in 2024 were attributable to the production of aluminum (15,800 jobs), an industry more recently affected by US tariffs. The next two largest contributors to jobs associated with the production of critical minerals were services supporting the production and extraction of critical minerals (14,100 jobs) and the extraction of prioritized critical minerals (12,500 jobs), which includes commodities such as cobalt, copper and nickel.
Note to readers
Data on critical minerals for 2024 have been released along with revised data back to 2022. For non-metallic minerals, data were revised back to 2021. Estimates of the implicit prices for potash have been revised back to 2021 after a confrontation exercise involving other price and production data sources. The total critical minerals estimates have been updated to reflect the revision.
This release incorporates new benchmark values from the supply and use tables (SUTs) for the 2022 reference year. Due to changes in product and industry classification along with compilation methods within the SUTs, all series are subject to level shifts.
The economic contribution of critical minerals in Canada is an extension of the Natural Resources Satellite Account.
The list of critical minerals is determined by Natural Resources Canada in collaboration with various partners. The estimates presented in this release are in accordance with the updated list published in June 2024 but currently exclude “high-purity iron ore.”
Prioritized critical minerals consist of cobalt, copper, nickel, rare-earth elements, graphite and lithium.
Platinum group metals consist of iridium, palladium, platinum, rhodium and ruthenium.
Other critical minerals consist of all other critical minerals such as bismuth, helium, magnesium, silicon metal, titanium, uranium and zinc.
The estimates for the reference years 2023 and 2024 are considered preliminary and, as such, are subject to changes, sometimes significatively, in future releases.
Gross domestic product (GDP) measures the total unduplicated value of goods and services at current prices produced over a certain period.
Real gross domestic product presents the GDP adjusted for price changes and thus represents a volume measure of the total unduplicated value of goods and services produced over a certain period.
GDP in this release is expressed at basic prices.
Useful links
To learn more about critical minerals in Canada, see Critical minerals in Canada.
For the complete list of critical minerals in Canada, see Critical minerals: an opportunity for Canada.
Products
The Economic accounts statistics portal, accessible from the Subjects module of our website, features an up-to-date portrait of national and provincial economies and their structure.
Additional information can be found in the articles “The Natural Resources Satellite Account: Feasibility study” and “The Natural Resources Satellite Account – Sources and methods,” which are part of the Income and Expenditure Accounts Technical Series (Catalogue number13-604-M).
The Latest Developments in the Canadian Economic Accounts (Catalogue number13-605-X) is available.
The User Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (Catalogue number13-606-G) is available.
The Methodological Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (Catalogue number13-607-X) is available.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
- Date modified: