Quebec to Invest $252 Million to Support Province’s Forestry Sector
On Thursday, Québec announced additional investments of $252 million (CAD) over five years that will enable initiatives worth $540 million over the next seven years to support the wood processing sector and invest in reforestation efforts.
The industry has faced a number of challenges over the past few years, including the major forest fires in the summer of 2023 and the imposition by the United States of countervailing and anti-dumping duties on Canadian lumber, the government said.
The spending breakdown is as follows:
- $100 million to support the wood processing sector: To support certain businesses currently facing liquidity problems, notably because of the dispute with the United States over various softwood lumber products, financial assistance of up to $100 million will be granted in the form of loans.
- $440 million in reforestation efforts: The Québec government and the Canadian government have agreed to step up reforestation efforts and to plant more than 100 million trees in public and private forests by 2030–31. More specifically, the Canadian government has committed to contributing $220 million under the 2 Billion Trees program to further Québec’s efforts aimed at increasing reforestation—particularly in unproductive sites and areas affected by natural disturbances—and to ensure tree planting maintenance, bringing the total investment to $440 million.
In a statement accompanying the announcement, Québec Minster of Natural Resources and Forests Maïté Blanchette Vézina said:
“We are fully aware of the difficulties that the forestry sector has been facing in recent years. The government has chosen to support this vital sector for our regions. By combining the modernization of the forest regime with the new investments we are announcing today, we are giving the sector the means to meet these challenges. In the long term, we will offer greater flexibility, but most importantly predictability, to businesses in the forestry sector and to other forest users.”
FEA compiles the Wood Markets News from various 3rd party sources to provide readers with the latest news impacting forest product markets. Opinions or views expressed in these articles do not necessarily represent those of FEA.