The goal of New Brunswick ’s new comprehensive minerals strategy is to make the province the “best place to do mining” in Canada, says Premier Susan Holt. “We have a goal to permit faster than anyone else, maintaining that rigour, ensuring the kind of standards that Canada is known for, but making sure that your project is ready to attract investment and get going,” she said on Monday at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada conference in Toronto. New Brunswick’s priorities for bolstering mining activity include making the regulatory and permitting process more efficient, “targeted incentives” to strengthen competitiveness and encourage new mine development and local planning around infrastructure, housing, essential services and workforce development to ensure “growth does not place undue pressure on local systems.” The plan also aims to foster “meaningful Indigenous participation,” including expanding opportunities for Indigenous‑owned businesses within the mineral development supply chain, and to promote awareness amongst investors, suppliers and the public. Holt announced the strategy alongside Canada’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson and New Brunswick’s Natural Resources Minister John Herron, who said the province aims to “unlock a lot of wealth” from its natural resources. “Fun fact, folks, 21 of the 34 critical minerals that have been identified by the federal government are found in the geology of New Brunswick,” he said. Holt listed potash, uranium, zinc, copper, tungsten, molybdenum, indium, antimony and manganese as some of those minerals. As a small province, she said one of New Brunswick’s advantages is that its minerals are close to transportation facilities. “We have 40,000 kilometres of forested road already built through our beautiful province. We have rail connection. We have two deep water ports, including one in Belledunne that is a set down for bulk and minerals, a place to transship all around the world,” she said. “You can get your resource out of the ground, into the port, place for processing and your employees don’t have to live in a camp.” Mining activity used to make up about seven per cent of New Brunswick’s gross domestic product (GDP), but it has dwindled over the past two decades and now accounts for less than one per cent. Holt said she hopes New Brunswick can move from “potential” to “performance,” and as new investments and projects come online, the province will create forecasts to project how much they are expected to contribute to economic growth. “I’d love to see it double from one per cent to two per cent, to four per cent between now and 2030,” she said. PDAC 2026: Hodgson says Canada's mining sector is at a 'hinge moment' while announcing new critical minerals projectsPDAC 2026: Mining industry has golden opportunity to prove its value to world, says Vale CEO • Email: jswitzer@postmedia.com