The $17.8 million figure is modest. Doug Ford says it’s nothing. The federal government says it’s something.
And the Ring of Fire sits there, 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, still waiting. That gap — between what Ontario claims and what Ottawa counts — has real consequences.
Not just for politicians trading barbs. For the communities in the James Bay Lowlands. For the companies eyeing those minerals used in electric vehicles and batteries.
For the whole clean-energy supply chain Canada says it wants to build. Ford wants cash for infrastructure.
Roads, mostly. The province has already committed about $1 billion. He asked Ottawa to match that.
Instead, he got a spokesperson from Natural Resources Canada pointing to money already spent. Since 2009, FedNor has handed out $17.8 million through its Northern Ontario Development Program. That paid for 26 projects.
Some helped communities plan. Some paid for training.
Some hired staff. Some funded studies. All aimed at getting ready for whatever the Ring of Fire might bring.
Two more grants came through the First and Last Mile Fund, run by Natural Resources Canada. Those supported Indigenous community engagement with proposed infrastructure linked to critical minerals in the region.
So the federal presence is there. But it’s thin. The technical reality is modest but not zero.
Ford called it “zip, zero, zilch.” That’s a political line, not an accounting statement. But it lands hard in northern Ontario, where the Ring of Fire has been talked about for years without much to show. Communities have watched promises come and go.
They’ve seen studies pile up. They’ve waited for roads that don’t get built.
The federal government says it has up to $1.5 billion available for mining and infrastructure projects. That’s a lot. But available isn’t the same as committed.
And Ford wants a cheque, not a program. What happens next is unclear.
The federal government pushed back on Ford’s claim last week. That pushback came in response to questions from Canada’s National Observer. It wasn’t a press release.
It wasn’t a statement from the minister. It was a spokesperson answering questions. That matters.
It suggests Ottawa wasn’t planning to make a public fight of this. It responded because it was asked.
But the response itself — citing millions spent, pointing to available billions — is now part of the record. Ford’s office will have to deal with it. The Ring of Fire contains minerals used in electric vehicles, batteries and other clean energy technologies.
That’s the prize. The federal government wants those minerals.
The province wants them too. Both say they support development. Neither has fully funded the infrastructure needed to get at them.
Ford asked for cash. Ottawa said it’s already given some. That’s where things sit.
The communities in between are still waiting for a road.
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