Champagne in Washington to talk trade, critical minerals with G7 countries

By Canadian Press on January 11, 2026.

OTTAWA — Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne is in Washington, D.C., Sunday and Monday for meetings on trade and critical minerals.

The government says in a news release Champagne is meeting with G7 counterparts and “other like-minded countries.”

It says Champagne will take part in a finance ministers’ meeting to discuss critical minerals supply chains, hosted by the U.S. treasury secretary.

Champagne said in December it is time to move on extraction and refining of critical minerals in Canada, and that that Canada can help Europe move away from dependence on China for critical minerals.

At the G7 meeting in Kananaskis, Alta., in June, G7 countries launched an action plan and a production alliance on critical minerals.

In October, Canada announced the first projects coming out of that alliance.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 11, 2026.

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press