Expanding Canada’s mining tax incentives to include engineering, feasibility and technical studies as Canadian exploration expenses could lift exploration spending by up to US$1.1 billion (C$1.6 billion) per year, EY estimates for the Association for Mineral Exploration. EY projects this could advance three to five additional mines, adding C$5.2–12.2 billion to GDP from exploration and a further C$12.9–21.4 billion over mine construction plus 15–20 years of operations, against C$6.6 billion in forgone tax revenue over a decade. Budget 2025 currently proposes excluding feasibility-related costs, despite support for broader eligibility from six provinces and Yukon.

Federal plans to expand Canadian Exploration Expense eligibility to engineering, feasibility and technical work, alongside a broadened Mineral Exploration Tax Credit, are projected by an EY assessment for AME to add up to C$33 billion in economic growth from at least three to five new mines and increased exploration. The report estimates C$1.6 billion per year in extra exploration spend, around 34,000 full-time jobs over 10 years, and a 5:1 GDP return on each public dollar. AME says 171 mines awaiting commercial production could be kickstarted if the CEE changes are enacted in Budget 2026.

Conservative Party leaders are preparing an election pledge to abolish the Environment Agency and Natural England, removing the current statutory regulators for flood risk management, main river consents, environmental permits and protected habitats. Scrapping these bodies would affect technical approvals for flood defences, reservoir safety oversight, abstraction licences and environmental impact assessments on major road, rail and energy schemes. Engineers could face a restructured or entirely new permitting regime, with uncertainty over design standards, programme risk and long-term asset maintenance responsibilities.