Ottawa Failed to Meet Its Goal of Tree Planting by 2024

In a significant move towards environmental conservation, the federal government and Quebec have reached an agreement to plant 100 million trees in the province over the next seven seasons.

The initiative, part of the federal government's "2 billion trees" program, has already seen the planting of 12 million trees in Quebec through the "early action" component. The planting of 10,000 urban trees in Joliette was funded directly by the program at a cost of $1.1 million, or $110 per tree.

The promise to plant two billion trees was made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2019. However, the federal government missed its tree-planting target for the fourth consecutive year, with only 66,985,489 trees planted in the 2024 season, falling short of the target of 100 million trees.

Each government has committed to investing $220 million, or $2.20 per tree, in the Quebec tree planting project. The program will not fully fund tree planting across Canada but will contribute to the cost of trees planted by municipalities, Indigenous communities, or provinces.

The Legault government has announced that it will be allowed to harvest the trees planted under the agreement, "in the long term". Ottawa has finally given its approval for this.

The former Minister of Natural Resources, Jonathan Wilkinson, admitted that the federal 2 billion trees program aims to fund the planting of approximately 1.8 billion trees. Tim Hodgson, a former Goldman Sachs Canada executive, replaced Wilkinson as Minister of Energy and Natural Resources in 2025. However, there is no information available about who replaced Wilkinson in the cabinet or who was the current minister when the government exceeded the 8.5% target of the "2 billion trees" program in the last four years.

The opposition parties have voiced their opinions on the matter. Patrick Bonin, the Quebec Bloc's spokesperson on environmental issues, stated that the Liberals' promise was a "smoke and mirrors show" to give the impression that they care about climate change. The Conservatives, on the other hand, have raised a little over $9.1 million during the quarter ending in June, despite a slowdown in fundraising.

Meanwhile, the magazine editor Isabelle Vaillancourt has passed away, leaving a void in the Canadian journalistic landscape. Her contributions to environmental journalism will be missed.

If the government wants to achieve its goal of planting 200 million trees in 2025, it would need to more than triple its 2024 planting. The 2 billion trees program, in itself, has funded the planting of about 170.5 million trees in the country, which is about 8.5% of the initial promised target. The program was primarily designed to fund large-scale planting, with the federal government covering an average of $1.58 per tree.

The tree-planting initiative is a significant step towards addressing climate change and promoting sustainable development in Canada. The government's commitment to investing in tree planting projects across the country is a positive sign and demonstrates a commitment to environmental conservation. The success of the program will depend on the government's ability to meet its targets and ensure the long-term survival of the trees planted.