Marc-Olivier Fortin
Partnership Development Director
Lessons from British Columbia on social acceptability in the mining sector
On the heels of the CIM Connect conference taking place in Vancouver, Transfert and Voconiq have released the results of the Social Acceptability Barometer highlighting findings specific to British Columbia. While the province’s acceptability levels are close to the Canadian national average, the data reveals a unique trust model, where environmental values and a collective memory of past events serve as a barrier to the social license to operate.
British Columbia is a key driver of Canada’s mining sector. The province produces or has recognized potential for 22 of the 34 critical minerals identified by the federal government. It is home to some of the world’s largest copper deposits, and in 2025, its government announced a plan to expedite permitting for priority projects. For the industry, the outlook seems more favorable than ever.
Yet, data from the Social Acceptability Barometer: Canadian Mining Sector 2025 highlights a persistent reality: while red tape can be streamlined, trust is built in a different way.
A misleading average
At first glance, the results from British Columbia align with the national average. Acceptability of mining stands at 3.46 out of 5, compared to 3.48 for Canada as a whole, a statistically insignificant difference.
But beneath this apparent alignment, the province’s trust model is fundamentally different. Two variables, personal values and perceived environmental impacts, exert a negative influence on trust. This is not the case in either the Canadian or the Quebec model. This is where the originality and value of the British Columbian case lies.
What Builds Trust, and What Makes It Work
Three things help build trust.
Community resilience and influence are the most powerful drivers (coefficient: 0.25). But one nuanced finding is worth noting: British Columbians feel less capable of taking action locally compared to the Canadian average (3.18 vs. 3.23), while perceiving their influence as stronger at the national level (2.83 vs. 2.78). This paints a picture of a province that has developed a culture of engagement through the justice system and public policy, without, however, strengthening its mechanisms for local participation. The gap between mining and non-mining regions confirms this: in the former, citizens are more likely to feel they can hold the industry accountable; in the latter, this sentiment is eroding.
Trust towards the regulatory system ranks second (0.24). British Columbia’s scores are slightly above the national average (3.09 vs. 3.03), but remain close to the midpoint. In a province where reform of the Mineral Tenure Act is underway and a new consultation framework for mining claims took effect in March 2025, this relative trust remains fragile.
Procedural fairness rounds out the picture (0.19). BC consistently outperforms the national average on all indicators, including the perception of having more opportunities to participate in decisions (2.80 vs. 2.68). But all scores remain below the neutral threshold of 3.0: the province is doing better, but expectations are not being met.
One key structural detail of the model is worth highlighting. These three positive factors achieve acceptability only through trust. Negative impacts, on the other hand, circumvent this: they impact acceptability directly. In other words, it is easier to lose acceptability than to gain it. Trust is a long road; negative impacts are a shortcut leading to rejection.
What erodes trust: values and impacts
This is where the British Columbia model really stands out.
Personal values exert a negative influence on trust (-0.15). Respondents in the province are more likely to believe that mining activities conflict with their values and contribute to climate change. This is not an anomaly. It reflects a province whose collective identity is deeply rooted in its landscapes, forests, and waterways, and where the environment is embedded in geography as much as in politics.
Perceived negative impacts act on two fronts: they weigh on trust (-0.15) and directly affect acceptability (-0.18). British Columbians believe the industry has negative effects on the environment more strongly than the national average (3.53 vs. 3.46).
Collective memory is closely tied to these outcomes. The 2014 Mount Polley tailings dam breach (25 million cubic metres of tailings released into Quesnel Lake) remains a defining reference in the collective imagination. Ten years later, UBC researchers have documented that toxic particles continue to circulate in the lake. The company applied for permission to expand the same tailings pond. Federal charges under the Fisheries Act have been filed. When one wonders where the perception of negative impacts comes from, the answer lies in the landscape as well.
Gold, the Economy, and the Right Tone
One of the most striking findings is that the industry’s overall economic contribution does not appear to significantly influence public trust or acceptance in British Columbia. Reasons such as GDP, employment, and trade don’t move the dial.
And it’s not because people don’t recognize the economic value. When asked whether the industry’s benefits outweigh its impacts, the score reaches 3.63, above the neutral point. British Columbians recognize the industry’s contribution. But this acknowledgement does not translate into trust or acceptability. The classic macroeconomic argument falls flat.
What works are personal and concrete benefits (0.14 on acceptability). People care about what’s in it for them, their community, and their local area, not what the province gains as a whole.
But perhaps the most revealing result is this: attitudes toward gold mining are the second strongest direct indicator of acceptability (0.21), almost on par with trust itself (0.23). Gold is not classified as a critical mineral. It does not fit into the narrative of the energy transition. Yet, how people perceive the gold industry weighs twice as heavily on acceptability as the perceived necessity of critical minerals (0.12).
The bottom line: social acceptability isn’t built around a single mineral or a political narrative; it plays out at the industry level as a whole. Relying solely on the narrative of critical and strategic minerals, as compelling as it may be, means overlooking what truly shapes public perceptions. British Columbians do not judge the industry on a project-by-project or mineral-by-mineral basis. They judge an industry: how it operates, its impacts, and its concrete contribution to their living environment.
The Indigenous paradox
Respondents in BC perceive a stronger Indigenous influence on the approval process than the national average (2.94 vs. 2.74), reflecting a more assertive presence of Indigenous governance structures and recent legal advances, notably the Court of Appeal’s confirmation that the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) has the force of law. The fact that the provincial government itself appealed this decision to the Supreme Court of Canada, while announcing amendments to the law, demonstrates the intense tension surrounding this issue in the province.
However, support for Indigenous economic participation, meaning equity stakes in mining projects on their territories, is slightly lower in British Columbia than in the rest of Canada (3.50 vs. 3.63). The province recognizes Indigenous political influence but is more reserved regarding economic co-ownership. This tension deserves to be acknowledged.
A methodological limitation worth noting: with an Indigenous sample of 28 respondents out of 596, these results reflect the perceptions of those who participated, not necessarily those of all First Nations in the province.
The path forward
The model identifies three key priorities.
First, strengthen communities’ capacity to influence local decision-making. Not more consultation, but better consultation: clarify from the outset what can be influenced, and close the loop by communicating what has changed, what has not changed, and why.
Second, build trust in the regulatory framework, not by demanding more rules, but by demonstrating that existing ones are being followed and that oversight mechanisms are working.
Finally, ground the narrative in local, concrete benefits. In a province where the broader economic argument does not inspire confidence, the demonstration of value must become more nuanced, more localized, and more personal.
British Columbia is gaining momentum. But there are no shortcuts to building trust. And the model reminds us of a fundamental reality: it takes longer to build trust than it does to lose public acceptability.
The provincial summary for British Columbia is available at transfertconsult.ca/barometer. This study was conducted by Transfert Environnement et Société and Voconiq based on a national survey of 4,811 Canadians (August–September 2025; BC subsample: n = 596).
About Voconiq
Voconiq is a global leader in engagement science, helping organisations measure and manage trust through its Enterprise Social Performance approach. Founded out of Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, Voconiq combines social science and advanced analytics to deliver evidence-based insights that strengthen relationships with communities, customers and workforces across industries including mining, energy, agriculture and infrastructure.
Marc-Olivier Fortin
Partnership Development Director
Marc-Olivier Fortin was both a Senior Advisor and Project Director at Transfert Environnement et Société before becoming Partnership Development Director. He has over 10 years of experience as a leader in community relations, government relations, and business development. He has worked in both private and public organizations, gathering a wide range of experience.