Key facts
- European Investment Bank President Nadia Calviño is visiting Ottawa to foster cooperation on critical raw materials.
- Calviño will meet with Canadian Minister for Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson.
- The European Investment Bank (EIB) plans to establish a presence in Canada.
- The EIB's operations in Canada will focus on critical raw materials projects.
- The visit follows a proposal for Canada to become an associate member of the EU.
- Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has identified critical raw materials as an area for collaboration with Europe.
European Investment Bank President Nadia Calviño is traveling to Ottawa on Sunday to initiate cooperation between Europe and Canada on critical raw materials. The visit aims to establish a Canadian base for the EIB, the EU's long-term lending institution, to begin operations focused on these strategic resources.
Calviño is scheduled to meet with Canadian government officials, including Tim Hodgson, the minister for energy and natural resources. This initiative comes shortly after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed admitting Canada as an associate member of the EU, underscoring a strengthening of ties.
Canada has previously offered "priority access" to its critical minerals stockpile to alliance members, according to a letter seen by POLITICO. Prime Minister Mark Carney has also highlighted critical raw materials as a key area for collaboration between Canada and Europe, emphasizing the need to secure strategic autonomy through deep cooperation in areas such as defense industrial capacity, AI, energy security, space, and payments.
Carney indicated that significant discussions would commence at an investment summit he will host in Montreal at the end of October.