December 18, 2025 – Ottawa, Ontario – Department of Finance Canada
Disruptive trade patterns are bringing uncertainty to sectors across Canada and impacting businesses’ longer-term planning and operations. The diamond sector, a centrepiece of the Northwest Territories’ economy – employing over 1,000 Northerners and contributing close to 20 per cent of territorial gross domestic product – is particularly exposed.
Tariffs coupled with low global diamond prices, inflationary pressures, and sustained supply chain bottlenecks are proving a challenge to navigate. That’s why the government is responding with a loan to support the Ekati Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories.
Today, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance and National Revenue, announced that the federal government, through Canada Enterprise Emergency Funding Corporation, is providing financial support to Arctic Canadian Diamond Company Ltd., the operator of the Ekati Diamond Mine located along Lac de Gras.
This $115 million loan through the Large Enterprise Tariff Loan facility will help the Ekati Diamond Mine continue operations and protect valuable jobs in the community.
The Government of Canada recognizes that the Ekati Diamond Mine contributes significantly to the territory’s economy. While diamond mining remains one of the Northwest Territories’ primary economic drivers, many mines are approaching the end of their operational lives.
That’s why the Government of Canada is both providing the loan to ensure the Ekati mine can continue to operate and also working with the Government of the Northwest Territories, Indigenous governments, and Northern organizations to proactively support economic diversification and create new, sustainable opportunities for Northerners.