Canada, Japan discuss joint stockpiles to curb China mineral dependence

Canada and Japan are discussing joint stockpiles of critical minerals as both governments try to build a more secure supply line for batteries, electronics and advanced manufacturing while reducing dependence on China. Maninder Sidhu said the talks also cover joint mining projects and off-take agreements, with graphite and gallium among the minerals in play.

The discussions unfolded as Sidhu led Canada’s largest Team Canada Trade Mission to the Indo-Pacific region since the program launched in 2023. Ottawa said the mission was tied to a commitment from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to Japan in March 2026 and was meant to advance the Canada-Japan Comprehensive Strategic Roadmap. The delegation included roughly 300 members from nearly 180 companies and organizations, a scale that shows how closely business interests are tracking the push to link Canadian mineral supply with Japanese industrial demand.

The strategic backdrop is broader than one trade trip. Canada and Japan signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in Tokyo in March 2026 that put critical minerals, energy security, defense cooperation and technology supply chains at the center of bilateral ties. That agenda fits with the G7’s June 2025 agreement to coordinate more closely on critical minerals supply chains, including stockpiling, and to launch a new platform with a larger role for the International Energy Agency. Canada later said the follow-up work included investments and partnerships aimed at unlocking billions of dollars in critical minerals projects.

Graphite is the clearest example of what is at stake. It is a core battery material, and Japan has been working to diversify supplies for the automotive, battery and semiconductor industries that rely on stable access to minerals processed outside China. Sidhu pointed to a partnership involving Nouveau Monde Graphite and Panasonic as a model for how the new strategy could work, pairing Canadian mining capacity with a Japanese industrial buyer that can provide long-term demand certainty.

The commercial scale of the mission suggests the mineral talks could affect more than diplomacy. Company announcements around the trip said more than 150 Canadian companies were selected, underscoring strong interest in the Japanese market and the financing opportunities that come with it. If Ottawa and Tokyo turn discussions of stockpiles, mining projects and off-take agreements into real contracts, the result could reshape how North American and Indo-Pacific manufacturers source the raw materials that sit behind electric vehicles, chips and defense hardware.