Ottawa Considering 2 Billion Trees Program to Restore Wildfire-Ravaged Forests

The Lower East Adams Lake wildfire in B.C.'s Shuswap region is shown in a handout photo. The Canadian Press/HO-BC Wildfire Service

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson said the federal government is “thinking very actively” about using its 2 Billion Trees (2BT) program to restore forests damaged by wildfires in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories.

“Absolutely we are thinking about how we can use that program in a manner that will help us to restore some of the forests and habitat that was affected this year,” Mr. Wilkinson said during a press conference on Aug. 22 at the Liberal cabinet retreat in Charlottetown, P.E.I.

Hundreds of out-of-control wildfires have been burning near West Kelowna, Kelowna, and Shuswap in British Columbia, and near Yellowknife, Hay River, and Fort Smith in the Northwest Territories, forcing tens of thousands of people out of their homes. The fires have burnt a combined 13.4 million hectares, according to Mr. Wilkinson.

He said he had recently signed a tree planting agreement with Prince Edward Island, with many trees going to areas that were impacted by Hurricane Fiona in September 2022.

Mr. Wilkinson said it had been an “enormous lift” to get the federal government’s 2BT program up and running. The $3.2 billion program is intended to support provinces, territories, third-party organizations, and indigenous organizations in planting 2 billion trees across Canada by 2030-31.

In August, Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN) revised its interim numbers, saying, to date, it had exceeded expectations by planting approximately 110 million trees. By 2022 it was supposed to have planted 90 million trees.

Canada’s environmental watchdog has said the federal government was using “creative accounting” to prove that its program was exceeding targets.

“It’s creative accounting. It’s certainly within their prerogative to do that,” Commissioner of Environmental and Sustainable Development Jerry DeMarco told CBC News.

NRCAN previously admitted to revising its 2021 tree-planting figures by adding millions of trees planted through partner programs like Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Low Carbon Economy Fund, bringing the number from 29 million to 83 million.

On April 20, 2023, Mr. DeMarco said the 2BT plan was “unlikely to succeed” unless “significant” changes were made, as NRCAN had not signed any long-term project agreements with provinces or territories.