Johannesburg – A NEW Ipsos Canada poll has revealed that 64 % of Canadians believe their federal government should block the sale of national resource companies — in oil and gas, forestry, and mining — to foreign buyers.
https://www.ipsos.com/en-ca/64-canadians-want-foreign-sales-resources-blocked
The poll’s results signal a rising of global resource nationalism and strong citizen sentiments toward reclaiming rights to the management of mineral wealth.
Darrel Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Global Public Affairs, compares the results of the poll to the similar “Buy Canadian” sentiment seen in places like the grocery store.
“Basically, what this is saying is if globalization is being challenged, particularly by our southern neighbour, then we have to protect our key assets, and our key assets are natural resources,” said Bricker.
“Canadians get that natural resources are the fundamental driver of our economy. So they want to protect it. And what this shows is that anybody who’s going to be trying to buy a foreign company in Canada, a foreign company trying to buy a Canadian natural resource asset, has to be very, very careful.”
The poll reflects a broader trend of global citizenry that recognizes ownership and control of critical minerals as tied to national identity, climate transition, and community justice.
The Tlou Mogale Foundation drew attention to the recent Mining Weekly Canada article, “Indigenous Opposition Clouds Teck–Anglo Tie-Up” (19 September 2025), reporting that the Osoyoos Indian Band of British Columbia has publicly opposed the proposed $53-billion merger between Teck Resources and Anglo American.
“Deals of this scale have the possibility of significant impacts on Indigenous Nations and our people. These deals cannot be completed without the title-holders on whose lands these mines and smelters are situated being included,” — Chief Clarence Louie, Osoyoos Indian Band.
https://m.miningweekly.com/article/indigenous-opposition-clouds-teck-anglo-tie-up-2025-09-19
The Band, part of the Syilx Nation, described the century-old Teck Cominco smelter at Trail as a symbol of extraction without benefit, saying new expansion plans worth C$ 750 million were being negotiated without consultation.
The Foundation notes that these grievances echo precisely the experiences of South African mining communities affected by Anglo American’s operations — from the regional platinum belts of Rustenburg to the coalfields of Mpumalanga.
South Africa’s Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act declares minerals to be the common heritage of the people, yet the Foundation states that the practical reality within South African borders, falls short in a number ways:
Communities remain excluded from decision-making and benefit-sharing.
Foreign-capital dependence continues to erode sovereignty.
Downstream beneficiation lags far behind potential in platinum-group metals, rare earths, and titanium.
Governance mistrust weakens the state’s ability to act in the public interest.
“Canada’s Osoyoos Indian Band’s statement could have been written in a province in South Africa,” the Foundation said.
“Both contexts expose an enduring system of extraction without restitution and consultation without consent.”
Global Narrative Structure
The Foundation also highlighted what it called a troubling disparity in media coverage.
While Mining Weekly Canada reported Indigenous dissent against the Anglo–Teck merger, Mining Weekly South Africa, owned by the same parent company, seemingly takes less opportunity to publish stories of historic grievances from affected South African communities.
“When a multinational mining company underwrites advertising, sponsorships, and ‘thought-leadership’ features in the very outlets meant to hold it accountable, press freedom becomes transactional,” the statement read.
“Democracy must thrive on embracing the truth of all sectors of society and this includes marginalised communities.”
Global Trend of Mergers
The recent Ipsos Canada poll provides empirical evidence that ordinary citizens no longer support the unchecked consolidation of national resources under transnational corporate control.
In this context, the proposed Anglo–Teck merger represents precisely the kind of geo-economic manoeuvre that citizens are warning against — one that shifts ownership of critical-mineral supply chains away from the public and into the hands of financial centres.
While 64 % of Canadians now demand government intervention to protect domestic resource companies, proposed mergers such as Anglo–Teck proceed currently without similar public scrutiny in the Southern African region.
With South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation (PIC) — a custodian of workers’ pensions — among Anglo’s largest shareholders, the Foundation warned that the proposed merger risks deepening the “potential for continued state capture.”
The Foundation concluded that the Ipsos poll and the Osoyoos Indian Band’s resistance are connected signals of a wider human awakening and that citizens on both continents are expressing a need to equitable and inclusive development that recognises the preservation of natural resources, ecologies and humanity.
– CAJ News
