Trump wants Canadas critical minerals. Heres why they matter so much – National [Video]

U.S. President Donald Trump is making the race for critical minerals a key part of his agenda — and Canada’s rich reserves are a prime target for his ambitions.

Dozens of minerals are being increasingly traded around the world for technologies such as smartphones, electric vehicles and artificial intelligence, as well as modern military equipment.

For years, the U.S. has been trying to reduce its reliance on China for those minerals, turning to like-minded producers like Canada.

“Canada has strategic reserves the U.S. doesn’t have a lot of,” said Gracelin Baskaran, director of the critical mineral studies program at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, a U.S. think tank.

Trump is now looking to accelerate that shift.

On Tuesday, he told a joint session of Congress he will be signing new executive orders this week that will “dramatically expand production of critical minerals and rare earths here in the U.S.A.”

But Trump is also …