One of the most important findings from our 2025 Social Acceptability Barometer: Canadian Mining report is the clear connection between local and national social license to operate (SLO).
In surveying nearly 5,000 Canadians, we found that national trust in the mining industry is partly driven by confidence that local communities can hold mining companies accountable. When citizens believe communities closest to mining activity have voice and agency, trust in the industry increases nationally.
This reinforces something we first observed in the CSIRO Australian Attitudes Toward Mining survey in 2017 and was again emphasised when the survey was replicated in 2024. The pattern is now evident in Canada:
Access the summary report from Voconiq or talk to our exclusive Canadian partner Transfert Environnement et Société to drill deeper into how to action these insights.
Why this matters
This has several important implications for the way mineral policy is developed, how mining companies and industry bodies think and operate, and critically, shows mining communities that their local experiences matter in the way the industry is able to achieve its larger ambitions to fuel the renewable energy transition and secure strategically important resources.
Increasing citizen knowledge about mining matters, but our data shows that national SLO is built on observable, local action:
- Investing in community resilience
- Managing impacts effectively
- Strengthening relationships with purpose
- Creating meaningful mechanisms to negotiate conditions for acceptability
- Ensuring fair and equitable working conditions
- Consistent, effective regulatory oversight
These are the pathways to greater optimism and trust in the Canadian mining sector.
In future iterations of this research, we’ll continue tracking these core SLO drivers over time, and work to increase participation from Indigenous communities in mining regions to ensure all voices are reflected in this critical national conversation.
