Quebec’s premier believes Europe’s rearmament presents an “extraordinary opportunity” for his province as it tries to diversify trade away from the United States.
Francois Legault told a gathering in Hannover, Germany, that Europe plans to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on defence in the coming years as U.S. President Donald Trump has signaled he may no longer be willing to protect Canada or the European Union.
Legault says several Quebec sectors could contribute to the EU effort, including shipbuilding, aerospace, critical minerals and artificial intelligence.
Critical minerals: Legault wants to speed up mining projects
With the uncertainty caused by Trump’s tariffs and the job losses that could ensue, Legault wants to put his foot on the accelerator for mining projects so Quebec can exploit its critical minerals more quickly.
“We’re going to have to have shorter lead times. We need to get rid of all the work and bureaucracy involved in obtaining permits,” he said on Monday.
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“In the mining sector, we have a golden opportunity,” added the premier.
Legault’s economic mission in Germany is to promote Quebec’s comparative advantages, including critical minerals.
“A number of German companies have told me that, whether for defence or cars, they need all sorts of critical minerals that we have. So we need to deliver projects more quickly,” he maintained.
Faced with American threats to withdraw from NATO and an increasingly aggressive Russia, the European Union recently announced its intention to invest the colossal sum of $800 billion euros to rearm.
The premier believes that Quebec could take advantage of this situation and win defence-related contracts from Europe.
Legault will return from his trip to Germany on April 2, the same day the U.S. president plans to impose a new round of tariffs.
This is Legault’s first mission to Germany, although he has visited France on a number of occasions.
Germany is Quebec’s leading economic partner in Europe. The province exported $1.6 billion worth of products to Germany in 2024.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on March 31, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
