Disruptors, an RBC podcast, is an ongoing series hosted by SVP John Stackhouse about reimagining Canada’s economy in a time of unprecedented change. It features thought-provoking conversations with Canadian business and innovation leaders about planting the seeds of a new economy.

&lt;p&gt;As the world electrifies—from cars and buses to datacentres and defence—demand for battery materials is exploding. Today, China refines more than 90% of the world’s graphite into the material used in virtually all EV battery anodes—&lt;strong&gt;that level of concentration is a strategic vulnerability Canada, and its allies, can’t ignore.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;<br />
&lt;p&gt;But Canada is starting to respond. The federal &lt;strong&gt;Major Projects Office&lt;/strong&gt; has just referred &lt;strong&gt;Nouveau Monde Graphite’s Phase-2 Matawinie Mine&lt;/strong&gt; as a &lt;strong&gt;“Major Project of National Interest”&lt;/strong&gt;—a move aimed at helping Quebec and Canada shift from exporting ore to building a &lt;strong&gt;full mine-to-refine graphite value chain&lt;/strong&gt; at home, and with it, an entirely new strand of economic and industrial capacity.&lt;/p&gt;<br />
&lt;p&gt;In this episode of &lt;i&gt;Disruptors: The Canada Project&lt;/i&gt;, host &lt;strong&gt;John Stackhouse&lt;/strong&gt; takes listeners into that story. With former Quebec premier &lt;strong&gt;Jean Charest&lt;/strong&gt; and &lt;strong&gt;Eric Desaulniers&lt;/strong&gt;, founder &amp; CEO of &lt;strong&gt;NMG&lt;/strong&gt;, he lifts the hood on what it means for a critical-minerals project to be treated as a “major project” in Canada—and what this could mean for Canada’s role as a &lt;strong&gt;trusted critical-minerals supplier&lt;/strong&gt; to its G7 allies.&lt;/p&gt;<br />
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Disruptors

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