Indigenous consultation could improve the electric vehicle supply chain. 

That was one takeaway from the First Nations Major Project Coalition conference in Toronto this week, where members of the collective from more than 155 First Nations met with bankers, politicians and CEOs to spur progress on major projects, including critical minerals investments needed for EV batteries. 

The conference was a forum for major EV announcements, including Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s comments that Ontario will soon see a significant investment by an automaker—likely a multi-billion-dollar investment by Honda, reports have said. 

It’s no coincidence that these two conversations, about Indigenous investors and automaker investments, happened side by side. Japanese companies like Honda are interested in building out full supply chains from mines to cars, Japanese Ambassador Kanji Yamanouchi has previously said, and while doing so they are placing a lot of value on Indigenous reconciliation.  

The First Nations Major Project Coalition has been trying to provide extra support to Indigenous investors looking to participate or gain equity stakes in projects on their territories. Their buying power is being supercharged by the Indigenous loan guarantee program the federal government announced in last week’s budget. 

As Mark Podlasly, chief sustainability officer at FNMPC, pointed out, the critical minerals sector presents an opportunity for Canada to work with Indigenous communities whose lands will be affected by mining, as demand skyrockets for lithium, nickel, copper and other elements needed for EVs. 

The Indian Act blocked First Nations from capital markets in the past; the new loan program, he said, could unlock billions in investment. 

Leaders at the conference presented models they said would better benefit Indigenous communities, while preparing the economy for new technologies like EVs. The FNMPC unveiled an electrification strategy to help prepare for 2035, Canada’s last year of gas-vehicle sales. 

Still, there are legacy systems like online mineral staking that continue to affect Indigenous efforts to acquire land, said Reginald Niganobe, Grand Chief at Anishinabek Nation.

Katherine Koostachin, a former senior advisor of Indigenous policy and litigation in the Prime Minister’s Office, said she pushed the government to include more on Indigenous participation in its critical minerals strategy. Koostachin said she saw few benefits in her community growing up from existing systems, like the Impact Benefit Agreements with mining companies like De Beers. With big companies like Stellantis now expanding in Ontario, Koostachin said there needs to be a discussion about what it looks like for the government to work with Indigenous communities on issues like the Ring of Fire mining region. 

“It’s important for companies to acknowledge their role in what’s happened to Indigenous peoples,” said Dawn Madahbee Leach, chair of the National Indigenous Economic Development Board. “Everyone’s jumping to reconciliation without acknowledging the truth. That’s where we are today.” 

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