Poilievre says his goal will be to greenlight Ring of Fire permits within six months

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says that he will “set a goal” to greenlight all federal Ring of Fire permits, a major northwestern Ontario critical mineral deposit, within six months.

Poilievre says that a Conservative government would also commit $1 billion over three years to build a road network to link the potential mining site to Ontario’s highway network and First Nations communities in the area.

The Ring of Fire is about 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, and contains critical minerals like nickel, copper, platinum and cobalt potentially worth tens of billions of dollars.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford promised to speed up provincial approvals for Ring of Fire projects during the recent provincial election.

The terms of reference were finalized in January between 15 First Nations in the area and the federal government on the assessment to examine potential impacts of resource development in the region.

An early federal election has not been called yet, but is expected to begin soon.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 19, 2025.

David Baxter, The Canadian Press