Canada to Loan $175M to Rare-Earth Project in Quebec

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Written by Paul Wiseman for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

Averting China's critical minerals dominance overcomes Ottawa-Washington tensions as Canada announces large loan to a minerals project involving Torngat Metals, founded by Trump associate Stephen Feinberg.

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30-Year Potential

In spite of existing tensions between Ottawa and U.S. President Donald Trump, Canada's government has announced a $175 million loan to a mining project whose major investor has close ties to Trump.

Montreal-based Torngat Metals' Strange Lake mine will extract up to 13 million metric tonnes per year of rare earths for 30 years, according to the company's website. Also part of the project is a 105-mile road for shipping mined product to the coast of Labrador, from which it would be transported just more than 1,000 miles by ship to a proposed processing plant in Sept-Îles, Quebec.

Location of the proposed mine is 220 kilometers northeast of Schefferville, Quebec, on the Labrador border.

First discovered to have mineral deposits in the early 1980s, Industrial Info has tracked the Strange Lake project since its inception 30 years later, in 2010. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Plant and Project databases can learn more about Strange Lake--including capacities, investment values and necessary equipment--from a plant profile and a detailed project report.

Also tracked is a rare earth separation plant in Sept-Iles to include dysprosium and terbium, key minerals for magnets used in EVs, military weapons and more.

Trump Administration Connections

Strange Lake's first real capital infusion came about in 2022 from U.S. private equity investment firm Cerberus Capital Management, with US$50 million. Therein lies the key Trump administration connection.

Stephen Feinberg, who founded Cerberus in 1992, was the firm's CEO until his 2018 appointment to chair Trump's Intelligence Advisory Board. In 2025, he was confirmed as U.S. deputy defense secretary.

U.S. Federal Election Bureau data show Feinberg contributed at total of more than $3 million to Trump-related political action committees (PACs) from 2016 to 2020.

Feinberg also had connections with project operator Torngat Minerals. His reports filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics valued his shares in the company at between US$5 million and US$25 million. But Cerberus later told CBC's Fifth Estate that Feinberg "divested his stake in Cerberus and any funds that it manages to a qualified blind trust."

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has been quoted as saying that Canada's relationship with the U.S. is ruptured. Trump's calls for annexing the nation, along with threats and actions toward raising tariffs are among the issues causing the strain.

By the Numbers:

• $175 million: Amount invested by Canadian Government in Strange Lake project, operated by Torngat Metals, founded by Trump associate
• $110 million: Amount invested in the project by the Export Development Canada (EDC)
• 450: Number of long-term jobs the project is expected to offer

The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend

Bygones can be bygones, however, in fighting China's rare earth dominance, Canadian government officials have said.

Canada's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson told Fifth Estate that the rare earth mine needs support to protect Canada's jobs and its economy. "We're doing things that are exceptional because we are in exceptional times," Hodgson told CBC News' the fifth estate in an interview.

Ongoing mine jobs could total 450, "with a focus on indigenous recruitment from Quebec and Labrador," said a July 17, 2025, statement from Export Development Canada (EDC). In that statement it announced its own "$110 million bridge financing to Torngat Metals to support the next phase of its Strange Lake rare earth project."

It also called the investment "first of its kind," explaining that it was "reflecting our commitment to taking strategic risk for sectors of strategic interest. The well-capitalized nature of the Strange Lake project allowed us to seize the opportunity to do something unprecedented--providing early-stage financing for critical mineral development," said Alison Nankivell, EDC's President and CEO.

All This and Germany, Too

Then in August of last year Prime Minister Carney announced the signing of a critical minerals partnership with Germany, promising joint public financing of natural resources projects--also aimed at undercutting China's dominance. He mentioned nickel and cobalt specifically.

Three individual Canadian mining companies--including Torngat, along with Troilus Gold Corporation and Rock Tech Lithium--also signed agreements with German companies.

Key Takeaways

• Canada and U.S. can overcome strained relationship to fund critical minerals development to lessen China's grip on the market.
• Canada has also signed critical minerals development pact with Germany, to further advance the cause.

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About IIR News Intelligence
IIR News Intelligence is a trusted source of news for the industrial process and energy markets, powered by Industrial Info Resources' Global Market Intelligence (GMI).

About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR News Intelligence) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 trillion (USD).