**Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson. / LINKEDIN PHOTO**

Canada’s energy and natural resources agenda will be measured by its ability to attract massive amounts of private sector investment, according to Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson.

“One of the things about this Prime Minister is he does come from a business background. Whenever we set goals as a government, one of his first questions is what are the KPIs? What are the key performance indicators?” Hodgson told Amanda Lang on The Wonk podcast.

“He said right up front, a key performance indicator is, we will attract $500 billion of private sector capital into the Canadian economy,” Hodgson explained. “If we can do that, we will give ourselves more than any other country can take away from us. We will control our own destiny. We will put Canadians to work in good paying jobs. We will retool our economy in a way where we can sell our natural resources, our energy and natural resources to all of our like-minded allies, not just our allies we share a border with.”

So far, Hodgson said the first group of projects has already attracted $60 billion. He said the government plans to make more announcements on Grey Cup day (November 16, 2025), by the Stanley Cup Playoffs (April 2026) and by the World Cup (June-July 2026).

Hodgson framed resource development as both an economic and geopolitical imperative, pointing to China’s dominance over critical minerals processing. “China today controls 50% or more of the production of 14 of those critical minerals,” he said. “That’s a challenge for the world. Canada can be the answer.”

The minister stressed that success requires not just mining but also domestic processing.

Asked how long the government has to show progress, Hodgson said the shift is permanent. “I don’t think this has an end point. I think it’s a new way of thinking about things. It’s not if, but it’s how,” he said. “My hope is in perpetuity, but let’s see where we get to. I feel very good about our early steps.”

Hodgson pointed to global pressures as motivation for Canada to diversify its economic base. “When we are completely reliant on one trading partner, it’s great as long as that trading partner wants to play by the rules that we think are fair,” he said. “When we see that they no longer share those views, it’s time for us to diversify our economy.”