MiningWatch Canada is a left-of-center Canadian environmentalist organization. ¹ The organization issues reports opposing mining projects across the world and campaigns to the Canadian government to limit mining within Canada. ¹

Background

MiningWatch Canada was founded in 1999 to oppose mining in Canada and across the world. ² The organization was founded by Joan Kuyek with the intent to create an environment where “academics, journalists, and popular publishers” can criticize mining development. ³

MiningWatch Canada is registered with the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada. ⁴ Despite this, the organization has not filed reports with the government since 2017 and is deemed “inactive” on the office’s website. ⁴

Financials

In 2022, MiningWatch Canada received $651,675 (approximately $480,000 USD) in contributions, ⁵ reported $1,206,807 (approximately $890,000 USD) in total revenue, ⁵ made $1,220,884 (approximately $900,000 USD) in expenditures, ⁵ and held $874,553 (approximately $640,000 USD) in net assets. ⁶ That year, MiningWatch Canada listed The 11th Hour Project of The Schmidt Family Foundation, Boreal Songbird Initiative, Canadian Union of Public Employees, Echo Foundation, Fidelity Gift Fund, Ford Foundation, Inter Pares, New Venture Fund, Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund, Public Service Alliance of Canada, Unifor Social Justice Fund, United Church of Canada, and the Western Organization of Resource Councils Education Project among its donors. ⁶

In 2017 MiningWatch Canada received $9,960 (approximately $7,300 USD) in contributions from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA). ⁴

Complaints

MiningWatch Canada has filed complaints with various Canadian and multi-national agencies to prevent mining in Canada and internationally, including securities commissions, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. ²

In 2021, MiningWatch Canada filed a complaint with the Ontario Securities Commission and claimed that Noront Resources, a mining company, failed to fully disclose, and thereby potentially misled, its shareholders as to the extent of indigenous community opposition to the firm’s mining operations in the “Ring of Fire,” a mining district in northern Ontario. ⁷

Reports

MiningWatch Canada releases reports that cast a negative light on mining development in Canada and internationally. ⁸ For instance, in 2024 MiningWatch Canada produced a report, authored by the Institute for Policy Studies and Share El Salvador Foundation,  critical of the Salvadoran government for arresting environmental activists accused of committing murder in 1989 during the El Salvador Civil War. ⁹ In another report, MiningWatch Canada criticized the compensation for eviction of villages for gold mining operations undertaken by the Barrick Gold Corporation and the Tanzanian government. ¹⁰

Leadership

Jamie Kneen and Rodrigue Turgeon are the co-lead directors of MiningWatch Canada. ¹¹

Prior to joining the organization, Kneen was an environmental and wildlife policy analyst for Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, ¹² an organization that advocates for Inuit communities in Canada. ¹³

1. “About Us.” MiningWatch Canada. https://miningwatch.ca/about
2. “MiningWatch Canada 20^th Anniversary Info Graphic.” MiningWatch Canada. 2019. https://miningwatch.ca/sites/default/files/miningwatch20thanniversaryinfographicweb_0.pdf
3. “Book Review: Mining Country: A History of Canada’s Mines and Miners.” MiningWatch Canada. https://miningwatch.ca/blog/2022/3/10/book-review-mining-country-history-canada-s-mines-and-miners
4. “MININGWATCH CANADA- Registration-In-house Organization.”  Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada. https://lobbycanada.gc.ca/app/secure/ocl/lrs/do/vwRg?cno=17299&regId=869206#regStart
5. “MiningWatch Canada 2022 Annual Report-Statement of Financial Position” MiningWatch Canada. 2022. https://miningwatch.ca/sites/default/files/miningwatchannualrpt2022-en.pdf
6. “MiningWatch Canada 2022 Annual Report.” MiningWatch Canada. 2022. https://miningwatch.ca/sites/default/files/miningwatchannualrpt2022-en.pdf
7. ^[1] “Re: Continuous Disclosure Obligations and Reporting to Investors by Noront Resources Ltd. In relation to the Ring of Fire.” MiningWatch Canada Filing with the Ontario Securities Commission. August 5, 2021. https://miningwatch.ca/sites/default/files/osc_complaint_letter_re_noront_2021-08-05.pdf
8. “Publications.” MiningWatch Canada. https://miningwatch.ca/publications
9. “State of Deception.” MiningWatch Canada. https://miningwatch.ca/sites/default/files/state-of-deception-2023-delegation-report-english.pdf
10. “Evicted for Gold Profits: Indigenous Kuria forced off land in expansion of Barrick Gold’s  North Mara Gold Mine in Tanzania.” MiningWatch Canada. December 2023. https://miningwatch.ca/sites/default/files/2023-11_EvictedForGoldProfits_NorthMara.pdf
11. “MiningWatch Canada Personnel.” MiningWatch Canada. https://miningwatch.ca/blog/2019/6/12/miningwatch-canada-personnel
12. “Jamie Kneen.” LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jkneen/details/experience/
13. “Who We Are.” Inuit Tapirit Kanatami. https://www.itk.ca/national-voice-for-communities-in-the-canadian-arctic/