Government talking to metals giant Rio Tinto about cash flow help amid U.S. tariffs

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly says the federal government is talking to mining and metals giant Rio Tinto about helping the company with cash flow problems caused by the United States' global steel and aluminum tariffs.

During a visit to Saguenay, Que., on Thursday to meet with businesses in the province's aluminum sector, Joly told reporters that Ottawa had started talks with the firm earlier this week.

A spokesperson for the minister confirmed Friday that the talks were ongoing but did not provide any further details.

U.S. President Donald Trump last month doubled his administration's tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to 50 per cent. Canada is the top exporter of both metals to the U.S.

Prime Minster Mark Carney said Canada would respond by adjusting its counter-tariffs on July 21, the deadline he set for an agreement with Trump when the two leaders met at the G7 summit.

Rio Tinto, one of the world's largest mining firms, is dual-headquartered in the United Kingdom and Australia. But it operates a number of mines and refineries, with thousands of employees in Canada.

Its website says it employs some 4,000 people in the Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean region. The company announced plans in 2023 to spend $1.4 billion to expand its aluminum smelting operations in the area.

The Canadian Press reached out to Rio Tinto for comment on the negotiations but has not received a response.

Separately on Friday, Quebec Premier François Legault announced a new energy supply deal between Hydro-Québec and Aluminerie Alouette, an international consortium operating a smelter in Sept-Îles that counts Rio Tinto as a 40 per cent stakeholder.

The consortium said as part of the deal it will invest $1.5 billion in modernizing its operations in the Côte-Nord region by 2045, with half of that spent in the next five years. A media release says these commitments will help maintain 1,000 jobs in the region.

The new electricity pricing deal is described as balancing risk and reward for the partners — offering greater returns to Hydro-Québec when aluminum pricing is strong, but helping to make Aluminerie Alouette more competitive when prices are low.

The new deal will take effect in 2030 after the current agreement expires.

Aluminerie Alouette counts Quebec investment agency QUALIUM, Austria's Metall AG, Norway's Hydro Aluminium and Japan's Marubeni Metals & Minerals among its stakeholders.