NovaRed Mining, a Vancouver-based exploration company, wants to be seen as a Canadian success story — quietly building out copper and gold assets on Canadian land. This week, the company sent a very different message: it appointed Kristi Noem, the former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, who was fired by Donald Trump this past March, to its Advisory Board.

This is the same Kristi Noem who has repeatedly called Canada "the 51st state."

Her record as Secretary:

• Publicly defended two deadly shootings of U.S. citizens by immigration agents in her department
• Faced accusations of needlessly slowing federal disaster response while people waited for help
• Oversaw a taxpayer-funded TV ad campaign built around her own image
• Criticized for using agency funds to purchase two luxury jets
• In her own memoir, she described taking the family dog, Cricket, to a gravel pit and shooting it herself, after deciding it wasn't suited for hunting

This is the résumé NovaRed was given to secure a seat at the table.

This isn't a one-off, either:

Noem is the third high-profile American NovaRed has added to its advisory team this year, following a retired U.S. Army colonel and a retired U.S. Navy commander
NovaRed's board currently has only one independent director, with no new appointments in several years
Rather than strengthening independent governance, the company added a controversial political figure with no mining background at all

This campaign is part of The Sanity Project's ongoing coverage, an independent Canadian publication focused on politics and sovereignty. For direct updates as this fight develops — including NovaRed's response, or lack of one — subscribe at thesanity.org/p/subscribe.

Why this matters:

Critical minerals — the copper, the rare earths, the resources NovaRed exists to extract — sit at the center of the Canada-U.S. economic relationship right now. Decisions about who shapes a resource company's strategy aren't symbolic: they determine whose interests Canadian land and Canadian minerals ultimately serve, and whether Canadian companies still answer to Canadians at all. Three American political and military hires in a row isn't an accident. It's a direction — and one that's still possible to reverse.

Our ask — we're calling on NovaRed Mining and CEO Brian Goss to:

1. Reverse Kristi Noem's appointment to the Advisory Board
2. Recommit to a board built on relevant industry expertise and genuine accountability — not American political connections
3. Canadian resources should serve Canadian interests.

Add your name below, and share this petition with other Canadians who feel the same way. For ongoing coverage of this story — and others like it — subscribe to The Sanity Project at thesanity.org/p/subscribe.

This campaign is part of The Sanity Project's ongoing coverage, an independent Canadian publication that covers politics, sovereignty, and the stories behind the headlines. If you want direct updates as this fight develops — including NovaRed's response, or lack of one — subscribe at thesanity.org/p/subscribe.

This isn't just about one offensive hire. Critical minerals — the copper, the rare earths, the resources NovaRed exists to extract — sit at the center of the Canada-U.S. economic relationship right now. Decisions about who shapes a resource company's strategy aren't symbolic; they determine whose interests Canadian land and Canadian minerals ultimately serve, and whether Canadian companies still answer to Canadians at all. Three American political and military hires in a row isn't an accident. It's a direction — and it's one that's still reversible if enough people make it clear this won't be ignored quietly.

We are asking NovaRed Mining and CEO Brian Goss to reverse Kristi Noem's appointment to the Advisory Board, and to recommit to a board built on relevant industry expertise and genuine accountability — not American political connections.

Canadian resources should serve Canadian interests.

Add your name below, and share this petition with other Canadians who feel the same way. And for ongoing coverage of this story — and others like it — subscribe to The Sanity Project at thesanity.org/p/subscribe.