Jean Simard, President and CEO of Aluminium Association of Canada and the official representative of Canada’s aluminium industry, serves as a leading voice with governments, business associations, NGOs, media and international organisations connected to the sector. Recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal for advancing Canada’s green aluminium and his commitment to the arts, Simard brings deep expertise in geopolitical trade analysis, public policy, sustainability, environment, and energy.

In an interview for “American Aluminium Industry: The Path Forward” e-Magazine, Jean Simard stated that the central discussion focused on how Canadian aluminium are produced with one of the lowest carbon footprints globally thanks to clean energy and innovation and can lead the industry’s sustainable transformation and be positioned as a strategic asset in international trade and green-value supply chains.

AL Circle: As the largest exporter of primary aluminium to the United States, how would you describe the current health of the US-Canada aluminium trade relationship? Are recent tariff developments cause for long-term concern, or are they being effectively managed through bilateral engagement? 

Jean Simard: We’ve seen better days! Our relationship with the US, resulting from decades of dedicated investments in operational excellence, smart and reliable just-in-time logistics, is highly prized both by Canadian producers and US customers. These are testing times, and while we strive to maintain the link to market, 50 per cent tariffs are a barrier to entry since the premium doesn’t internalise the full cost. Our seaborn plants are accessing other markets, instead of losing money shipping to the US when and if possible. 

Long-term concern is an oxymoron these days. When you look at the recurrent billions of dollars invested in our assets over the past two decades, Canada is in a long-term play to the benefit of our clients. Our competitiveness does not depend on putting tariffs on other countries; it is based on our capacity to reinvest in our assets.

AL Circle: Canada’s green aluminium credentials, particularly hydro-based production, are globally recognised. What are some of the recent milestones or future plans to further build on this sustainability advantage in the context of low-carbon global demand? 

Jean Simard: Aluminium is a critical material needed in the fight against climate change. And it’s also a strategic material at the heart of the energy transition and the decarbonization of both North America and Europe, which are producing less and less of it, while in need of more and more. Without aluminium, the needed pace and scale of decarbonization cannot be met. Global demand over the next 25 years will require as much aluminium as was used over the past 150 years. 

The race to decarbonise is accelerating, and demand for our aluminium keeps growing. We are showing the way with our operational excellence and our responsibly produced low-CO2 metal. All around the world, we are known for our leadership in decarbonization.

Our success in decarbonisation is grounded in our relations with clean, renewable hydro and also relates to our longstanding and rich tradition of aluminium production in Canada. With other producing regions of the world going through an energy transition, through substitution and market play tools such as Renewable Energy Certificates, we are facing considerable innovation challenges through an industrial transition. Going from LowCO2 to No Co2, developing a game-changing technology through the Elysis project. It is a technological revolution for the global industry, being developed here in Canada. It’s our race to the moon! And with the commitment of our Government partners, we are keeping pace.

AL Circle: With the US and other trading partners introducing industrial and decarbonisation policies like the Inflation Reduction Act, how is Canada positioning itself to remain competitive in attracting investment and building a low-carbon manufacturing base? 

Jean Simard: Canada is a naturally endowed resource-based economy. Today, these are becoming more and more strategically valuable for our country. From oil and gas to potash to uranium, and a family of critical minerals including aluminium, on which the world increasingly depends, Canada does indeed have “cards to play”. 

Our resources are the envy of the planet, as China, Russia and the United States want to dominate the strategic sectors of critical minerals and their processing. 

Aluminium, a critical mineral, is an excellent example of a product where Canada has leverage. 

Canada is actively engaged in rewiring its way into the future, diversifying markets while redefining its relationship with the US. Export infrastructures, international markets development, acceleration of innovation development and deployment, to name a few strategic undertakings. Mobilised by this unifying moment in history, Canada, its provinces, leaders and people are becoming One Country. 

To explore the full interview and gain deeper insights into the aluminium innovation, click here.