Western Canada holds significant potential to develop into a globally competitive value chain. This report, informed by extensive industry workshops and government consultations, identifies eight regional industrial clusters in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, and assesses opportunities and gaps across five of the eight identified to build a regionally grounded strategy unlocking the economic potential of Western Canada’s critical minerals.
Northern BC: A remote yet mineral-rich region with strong potential for copper, nickel, gold, and silver, but lacking local processing capabilities. Strategic investments in nickel and copper metallurgy, infrastructure, and workforce training could unlock value-added opportunities and anchor a fully integrated mining cluster in Canada.
Western Canada’s battery ecosystem is evolving from a scattered set of industrial nodes into a strategically connected network of regional clusters. Each cluster, from resource-rich regions in the North to advanced material manufacturing clusters in Alberta and battery manufacturing centres in southern BC, has unique strengths that, when integrated, form a complete and resilient battery value chain. Material flows between clusters, from lithium and phosphate to nickel, cobalt, and copper, reveal a powerful opportunity: specialization by region combined with shared infrastructure and collaboration can generate greater collective value than isolated growth.
This interconnected vision takes shape in what we call the “give and go play”, a material flow pattern that starts in Northern BC and the Territories, curves through Alberta’s industrial heartland for cathode and anode material production, and folds back to Southern BC for battery assembly. Alongside this horizontal flow, the concept of “Bar Down” adds a vertical dimension: a flow of raw materials moving southward from the North, supported by an efficient transport infrastructure. In contrast, clean power and investment flow northward in return. A complementary west-east corridor linking BC’s clean electricity with Alberta’s industrial base can further boost the capital competitiveness of cleantech manufacturing. Together, these flows create a full-loop ecosystem centred on circularity, clean technology, and regional synergy.
To succeed, this strategy must be supported by effective coordination among governments, industry, academia and Indigenous communities. With thoughtful planning and strategic project origination, Western Canada can establish a globally competitive battery supply chain that is rooted in sustainability, regional diversity, and economic strength.
One illustration of this desirable future Western value chain is a coordinated movement, much like a « give and go » play, that flows strategically between regions to maximize value creation. This future network starts in the resource-rich North, moving through central processing in Alberta, and advances to the coastal South for final manufacturing, before circling back through recycling loops. Much like in hockey, where players pass the puck and then move into open space to receive it back, the ‘give and go’ in this context represents the dynamic, reciprocal flow of materials, expertise, and investment across interconnected regional clusters. This « give and go » is a metaphor and a strategic blueprint that summarizes value chain integration across mining, refining, advanced materials, and battery production in Western Canada.
The play starts in Northern British Columbia, the Territories, as well as the Kootenays, where world-class deposits of nickel, cobalt, copper, graphite, and phosphate will be mined, while at the same time, lithium brine will be extracted from Western and central Alberta. These raw materials are then transformed through metallurgical and chemical upgrading, potentially within the same clusters or sent down to the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor, a region with the potential to emerge as Western Canada’s powerhouse for precursor, cathode active materials (CAM), anode production, and critical reagents. Alberta’s industrial strength, existing industry and refineries, and innovation hubs make it a natural host for advanced material production.
The final leg of the give and go play brings these engineered, advanced battery materials back west to the Vancouver Lower Mainland, where proximity to international markets, ports, urban infrastructure, and a skilled workforce can support battery cell, module, and pack assembly. With end-of-life batteries flowing back through the system, particularly toward the Kootenays for recycling and refurbishment, the give and go becomes a closed loop, reinforcing circularity and supply chain resilience.
Each cluster specializes in what it does best, and when connected, the collective value created has the potential to exceed the sum of its parts. This metaphor of a give and go is a proposed vision of regional synergy and Canadian leadership in the global battery economy.
In hockey, a « Bar Down » goal is a perfect shot that hits the crossbar and drops straight into the net. In Canada’s battery value chain, the concept of “Bar Down” captures a similar idea: a clean, vertical flow of materials, from the North to the industrial South, targeted with precision and to support the goal of battery production.
This vertical structure originates in the resource-rich North, specifically in Yukon, Northern British Columbia, and the Northwest Territories, where mining operations are emerging to supply lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, and rare earth elements. These critical materials must move downward through north-south transport infrastructure and trading corridors, connecting:
These routes represent the first leg of the give and go value chain, supplying raw materials to the current and future metallurgical processing hubs in Northern British Columbia, the Kootenays, or the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor, and beyond. Investment needs would include road and rail upgrades and expansion, as well as the creation of new infrastructure and transport corridors.
However, just as important is what goes back up: clean energy, grid capacity, and infrastructure investment must move northward, enabling remote regions to electrify their operations, power mining equipment, and create the conditions for full-cycle value creation. The necessary condition for this strategy to go forward is to prioritize supporting local economic development, benefiting the welfare and opportunities of local communities, and strengthening Indigenous reconciliation.
A complementary west-east corridor, integrating the clean hydroelectric grid of British Columbia to the more carbon-emitting Alberta, should also be considered to support the industrial development and capital attractiveness of cleantech in the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor.
This two-way corridor, with resources heading south and energy and infrastructure going north, would have a significant impact on economic development. It would form a resilient backbone for Canada’s battery economy, connecting geography with strategy, and transforming regional isolation into national strength.
Amid rising geopolitical and trade tensions, Canada should move beyond passive resource exports and proactively strengthen its trade position by processing its natural wealth domestically. The value proposition of more rapidly integrating the West and the North into this evolving national value chain is robust and compelling, with numerous benefits for Canada, including:
Developing and nurturing this integrated value chain requires a long-term perspective and government leadership in identifying, selecting, and appropriately supporting catalytic projects to move forward.