A year after Canada tightened foreign investment rules for the critical minerals sector, Chinese money has continued to pour into Toronto-listed miners, according to proprietary research conducted by the University of Alberta. The inbound flow is raising hopes among some junior miners that it will be easier to find Chinese funding.

Canada had forced three Chinese investors to sell their stakes in Canadian critical mineral companies in 2022. Some of these companies did not have their mines in Canada. In October 2022, the government added an extra layer of scrutiny for inbound deals in critical minerals.

The changes did not specify which country's investments would be scrutinized, but the government says it wants to secure the critical minerals sector, which is strategic to Canada's national security.

Still, Canada's critical miners received at least a dozen investments worth C$2.2 billion ($1.6 billion) in 2023 from new and existing investors in China and Hong Kong, a huge increase over C$62 million in 2022, data compiled by the University of Alberta's The China Institute shows.