EXCLUSIVE-Canada to spend C$2 bln on mineral strategy for EV battery supply chain

Canada's federal budget will include an investment of at least C$2 billion ($1.60 billion) for a strategy to accelerate the production and processing of critical minerals needed for the electric vehicle battery supply chain, two senior government sources said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government, which will release its budget this week, will invest some C$2 billion ($1.6 billion) to ramp up the extraction of processing of critical minerals including nickel, lithium, cobalt and magnesium, said the sources who are familiar with the file but were not authorized to speak on the record. The investment could be spread over more than one year, but the sources declined to comment on the time frame.