Faced with the challenges posed by the rise of current global geopolitical and geoeconomic conflicts, it is important that the United States and Canada, and particularly Quebec, continue and strengthen their cooperation with the aim of diversifying, securing and promoting the resilience of the North American critical and strategic minerals (CSMs) value chain. Canada and Quebec are important allies and contribute to American objectives of reducing their dependence on non-allied countries, a concern today omnipresent in Washington. Indeed, while the call for strengthening economic security and therefore national security is loudly heard and the need becomes urgent to strategically plan the supply of natural resources, and particularly CSMs, to promote the energy transition, cooperation between the long-standing allies is more essential than ever.
This session therefore aims to open a discussion about the future of the historic cooperation between Quebec and the United States, in uncertain geopolitical and geoeconomic contexts that pose several challenges. This will involve addressing the role of States through the public and commercial policies put in place in the United States and public policies in Quebec, which aim particularly to encourage and prioritize investments from strategic partners and to diversify, secure and foster the resilience of the North American CSMs supply chain. This round table will bring together American and Quebec representatives so that they can exchange their perspectives and possible solutions to consider when it comes to increasing collaboration between Quebec and the United States in order to deal with the challenges we’re facing today.