YELLOWKNIFE — At the conclusion of the 2026 Energy and Mines Ministers’ Conference (EMMC) in Yellowknife, the Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced significant federal funding packages aimed at boosting sustainable mining, critical mineral supply chains, and clean energy grids in Canada’s North. The funding is designed to advance economic opportunity, reinforce Canadian Arctic sovereignty, and build deeper partnerships with Indigenous communities across the territories. Minister Hodgson emphasized that investing in clean innovation and critical infrastructure is essential to unlocking the region’s economic potential with greater speed and certainty.
As part of a larger $73-million envelope for 12 projects nationwide, the federal government is heavily prioritizing transport infrastructure and critical mineral development in northern regions. The single largest allocation is a massive $50-million investment from the First and Last Mile Fund awarded to a joint venture between the Tłı̨chǫ Government and Fortune Minerals Limited. This funding will construct a 51-kilometre access road across Tłı̨chǫ private lands, connecting the NICO Cobalt-Gold-Bismuth-Copper Mine to the territorial highway system near Whatì. Additional funds will support a multimodal logistics hub at Cando’s Enterprise Terminal, alongside separate grants to the Tłı̨chǫ Government, the Wekʼèezhìi Renewable Resources Board, and the Deninu Kųę́ First Nation for traditional knowledge studies and environmental guardianship programs to monitor regional caribou populations.
On the margins of the conference, Minister Hodgson also pledged over $16 million to support clean energy infrastructure projects across the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and British Columbia. This funding falls under Canada’s broader Powering Canada Strong national strategy, which aims to reduce reliance on diesel, transition northern mines to lower-emission technologies, and strengthen regional grid reliability. By modernising northern grids, the federal government intends to provide a cleaner, more stable power supply that can support both growing local communities and industrial resource development.
This suite of funding complements a joint announcement made alongside northern premiers, confirming that three critical northern transit corridors are being prioritized for fast-tracked approvals under the Building Canada Act. The high-priority developments include the Mackenzie Valley Highway Project, the Grays Bay Road and Port Project, and the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s Deep Geological Repository. By streamlining the regulatory and approval processes for these major pathways, Ottawa and its territorial partners hope to rapidly improve northern connectivity while establishing long-term economic and energy security.
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