FACT CHECK: Carney took credit for a mine that began work in 2021
Prime Minister Mark Carney misleadingly took credit for kick starting Matawinie Mine despite it beginning construction in 2021.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said construction had begun at a new Quebec graphite mine, though owner Nouveau Monde Graphite confirmed work started in 2021.
Carney revealed on X that construction was “breaking ground” six months after its referral to the Major Projects Office.
“This will become the largest graphite mine in the G7,” he said. “It will create more than 1,000 career opportunities, catalyse nearly $2 billion of investments, and build a stronger, more independent Canadian economy.”
The Matawinie mine, about 120 kilometres north of Montreal, is the latest infrastructure project to be referred for the “national interest” designation by the Major Projects Office.
The government provided a $459 million financing package to support and accelerate the mine, including a supplementary battery materials plant in Bécancour, Quebec, to refine graphite.
