Out on a limb: Ottawa is falling behind on its promise to plant 2 billion trees

The federal government did not meet the targets for its program to plant two billion trees during the program's third planting season.

Numbers provided by Natural Resources Canada show Ottawa did not meet its annual planting and spending targets for the 2023-24 growing season.

Ottawa and its partners were supposed to plant 60 million trees last season but only got 46.6 million saplings in the ground.

Despite the program's slow rollout, a spokesperson for Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson's office insisted it will still reach its 2030-31 target.

"We remain on track to plant two billion trees, a key part of our efforts to combat climate change, support biodiversity and create jobs," said Cindy Caturao, the minister's press secretary.

• The federal government promised to plant two billion trees. How's that going?

Caturao said the program is complex and requires a lot of time to collect seeds, build up nursery operations and prepare sites. She said the first few years since the program began in 2021 have been focused on "jump-starting" efforts to source and plant seeds to produce saplings.

LISTEN | Seeds are one of the main chokepoints for the 2 Billion Trees program 

Why seeds are one of the main chokepoints for the 2 Billion Trees program

8 months ago

Duration 2:00

As part of a special episode on CBC Radio's The House, Kerry McLaven, CEO of the Forest Gene Conservation Association of Ontario, tells host Catherine Cullen about the difficulty in ramping up seed production and its impact on the federal government's 2 Billion Trees program.

While she said the planting eventually will accelerate, Caturao added external issues have acted as a drag on the program.

"Of course, pandemic-related economic, travel and supply-chain constraints have touched partners, as have wildfire conditions — underscoring the need to fight climate change and protect nature," she said.

The federal government says it has gotten 157.6 million trees in the ground since planting began in 2021. That's more than the 150 million trees it was supposed to have planted by this point — but that number also includes 54 million trees planted through separate programs like Environment and Climate Change Canada's Low Carbon Economy Fund.

Jerry DeMarco, federal commissioner of the environment and sustainable development, has called the addition of trees planted under separate programs "creative accounting."

LISTEN | The real dirt on the Liberals' two-billion-tree pledge 

The House49:02The real dirt on the Liberals’ two-billion-tree pledge

The federal government has promised to plant two billion trees by 2031 as part of the fight against climate change. But it’s not quite going to plan. This special edition of The House digs into the real-world challenges of planting so many trees — and whether the promise can live up to the hype. Host Catherine Cullen visits a seed orchard to speak with Kerry McLaven, CEO of the Forest Gene Conservation Association, about how many seeds will be needed — and why it’s so hard to get them. Then, The House travels to Somerville Nurseries, where manager Brent Forbes shows us his extensive operation, and Rob Keen of the Canadian Tree Nursery Association underscores the need for a long-term approach to tree planting. Plus, Doug Hevenor of the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority explains the challenges around finding land and Susan Antler talks about why she turned some of her farmland into forest. Kerdo Deer shows us how one Indigenous community is using funding from the 2 Billion Trees program to expand operations and apply Indigenous knowledge to its work. Akaash Maharaj of Nature Canada and forestry expert Christian Messier from the Université du Quebec à Montreal take a critical look at whether the program is working as intended. Finally, we ask Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson if planting two billion trees is just a slogan — or a real stab at climate salvation?

The government now has only seven growing seasons left to plant more than 1.8 billion trees.

The government said earlier this month it had agreements signed or under negotiation to plant 716 million more trees.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the planting program during the 2019 election campaign. It's backed by a funding commitment of $3.2 billion over 10 years.

For the second year in a row, NRCAN spent less money on the program than it was allocated in the 2023-24 planting season — $117.5 million, instead of the $285 million budgeted.

The government of Canada is only planting some of the trees. Ottawa relies on Indigenous communities, provinces, territories, businesses and non-profit organizations to do most of the planting. The federal government has signed tree-planting agreements with nine provinces and territories.

The federal government provides half the money required to plant trees through cost-sharing agreements.

In December 2021, Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN) outlined its goals for the program.

• READ NRCAN's targets for the 2 billion tree program