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Ottawa Seeks Cash-Flow Relief for Rio Tinto as Alouette Secures $1.5B Hydro-Québec Pact

Ottawa is negotiating emergency cash injections for Rio Tinto to counter President Trump’s 50% aluminum tariffs, with a formal Canadian response due July 21.

Aluminerie Alouette will invest at least $1.5 billion in its facilities in Sept-Îles over the next 20 years. An archive photo of the Aluminerie Alouette plant on Tuesday, May 21, 2019, in Sept-Îles. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot
Large aluminum billets are stored at Magna Aluminum Profile in Salaberry de Valleyfield, Quebec, Canada, June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Evan Buhler/File Photo
Rio Tinto says it employs some 4,000 people in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region and has plans to build a new $1.4-billion aluminum smelter in the area.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault speaks at a news conference at his office in Quebec City, Friday, June 6, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

Overview

  • The federal government has opened talks with Rio Tinto on emergency cash-flow support to offset the impact of newly raised U.S. tariffs on aluminum.
  • Aluminerie Alouette will invest at least $1.5 billion over 20 years in its North Shore smelter under a rate agreement in principle with Hydro-Québec lasting until 2045.
  • The electricity deal allows Hydro-Québec to share in profits when aluminum prices are high and guarantees stable energy costs when prices decline.
  • Rio Tinto employs about 4,000 workers in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region and is planning a new US$1.4 billion aluminum smelter to bolster production capacity.
  • Canada will unveil its formal retaliatory measures against U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs on July 21, contingent on the progress of bilateral trade talks.