Korea and Canada announce broad range of energy, mineral and defense deals, with Hanwha at the center

This article is by Lee Jian and read by an artificial voice. Korea and Canada announced a broad economic partnership spanning energy, critical minerals, hydrogen and defense, with Korean defense conglomerate Hanwha at the center of numerous proposals that could reshape both countries' industrial landscapes. The announcement followed a meeting on Tuesday in Ottawa between Canada's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson and Korea's Chief of Staff to the President and Special Envoy for Strategic Economic Cooperation Kang Hoon-sik. The meeting coincided with the Korea-Canada Energy and Resource Supply Chain Cooperation Forum, which brought together senior government officials, industry leaders and investors from Canada's energy, mining, infrastructure and technology sectors. The partnership reflects the growing weight of bilateral trade. In 2025, energy products became Canada's largest export category to Korea, valued at approximately 2.2 billion Canadian dollars ($1.6 billion), and metal ores and nonmetallic minerals ranked second at approximately 1.5 billion Canadian dollars. Korea has already invested approximately 1.6 billion Canadian dollars in the LNG Canada project and is expected to double that to 3.2 billion Canadian dollars as future phases advance. Korea has also recently scrapped its 3 percent tariff on Canadian crude oil imports and is expected to import approximately 16 million barrels of Canadian crude this year, rising to 20 million barrels next year. Beyond energy, Kang outlined an ambitious industrial initiative dubbed "Project Beaver" in an interview with CTV News. The proposal is tied to Hanwha Ocean's bid to build submarines for the Canadian military — known as the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project, or CPSP — and would pair that defense contract with broader economic investment. Under the plan, Hanwha Ocean said it would invest more than 3.1 billion Canadian dollars and create approximately 9,000 jobs, with a focus on building out a hydrogen transportation ecosystem in Canada. That would include a hydrogen liquefaction facility in British Columbia, a network of hydrogen refueling stations across British Columbia and Alberta and a factory in Ontario to manufacture hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles. The company's CPSP proposal, submitted in late April, is the centerpiece of its Canadian ambitions. Independent analysis estimates the proposal could generate 96.3 billion Canadian dollars in GDP impact and support more than 433,000 Canadian jobs over the initial acquisition period from 2026 to 2044. Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association (APMA), said after signing a memorandum of understanding with Algoma and Hanwha on June 1 that the partnership could create 30,000 direct and indirect jobs in Ontario alone. Hanwha Ocean said it has committed to delivering the first four submarines under the CPSP by 2035, with all 12 submarines deliverable by 2043 — offering Canada an accelerated path to recapitalizing its submarine fleet.