Six Key National Findings

Economic recognition, tempered by caution.

1. More than 75% of Canadians see mining as vital.

Canadians acknowledge mining as a cornerstone of their prosperity, with more than three quarters of respondents perceiving it as vital for jobs, regional development, and the energy transition.

However, trust lags behind acceptance, driven by the perception that mining companies prioritize profit and efficiency over community wellbeing.

Confidence in Regulation: Moderate but Uneven

2. …Fewer believe that current oversight is sufficient.

Canadians have only modest confidence in government and regulatory systems.

While most acknowledge Canada's strong legal framework, fewer respondents believed that oversight mechanisms are sufficient for accountability or environmental protection.

We found significant differences between the regions where confidence was highest, and those where it was lowest.

Procedural Fairness as a Persistent Weakness

3. Only 1 in 3 Canadians believe they have meaningful opportunity to participate.

Procedural fairness—the extent to which communities feel listened to, and able to influence decisions—scored consistently low.

This is a critical barrier to trust, reinforcing that Social License to Operate depends as much on process quality as project outcomes.

Environmental and Climate concerns

4. 45% of Canadians agree that mining contributes to climate change.

Environmental responsibility remains central to the social acceptability of mining, with a majority of respondents rating impacts on water quality and land rehabilitation as either "Very" or "Extremely" important.

Canadians support the role of mining in the energy transition, but they expect effective effort to protect the environment.

Conditional Support for Critical Minerals and Gold

5. National? Yes! Local? Maybe.

Public sentiment strongly favours the mining of critical minerals essential for renewable energy, with 7 in 10 respondents perceiving them as vital to Canada's energy future.

Gold also remains highly valued, but fewer than half of respondents would support a new gold mine in their community.

Canadians are clear on the conditions for expanded critical minerals extraction.

Indigenous Perspectives: Confidence with Caution

6. 44% believe Indigenous peoples have too little influence

Indigenous respondents, particularly First Nations, report higher trust and confidence in regulation, and overall acceptance of mining than non-indigenous respondents.

However, the answers of almost half of all respondents reflected a public expectation for stronger Indigenous leadership in resource governance.