The Kumtor mine is one of the largest gold mines in Central Asia. Photo courtesy the Kumtor Gold Company.

When Kyrgyzstan nationalized the Kumtor gold mine in 2021, citing environmental devastation and tax evasion by its Toronto-based operator, Centerra Gold, Canadian officials quickly mobilized to protect corporate interests. Newly released documents, acquired by Canadian Dimension through an access to information request, show that rather than taking Kyrgyzstan’s ecological concerns seriously, Ottawa cast them as a “pretext” for expropriation and focused instead on defending Canadian mining rights and preserving foreign investor confidence.

Although heavily redacted, the documents reveal how the Canadian government coordinated with Centerra and international financial institutions in the aftermath of the takeover. Publicly, ministers warned of damage to Kyrgyzstan’s investment climate. Privately, officials framed the nationalization as a threat to Canadian capital abroad, while expressing little concern about the mine’s documented environmental harms, including glacial waste dumping that had already resulted in a multi-billion-dollar court ruling against Centerra in Kyrgyzstan.

Canada’s internal communications—ranging from diplomatic meetings and briefing notes to embassy visits and “key message” documents—focused overwhelmingly on protecting Centerra’s assets and reputation. The potential poisoning of a transboundary water system was met with indifference; officials were far more alarmed about the message the nationalization might send to other countries considering similar moves against Canadian firms.

This response is emblematic of Canada’s broader role in global mining, where the state routinely acts to shield extractive corporations from accountability. With roughly 60 percent of the world’s mining companies headquartered in Canada, the federal government has long operated as an enabler of corporate power abroad, often at the expense of environmental stewardship and democratic decision-making in the Global South.

Kyrgyzstan’s Kumtor mine, located in the glacial highlands of the Tian Shan mountains, has long been a linchpin of the national economy. In 2019, the mine contributed

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