Canada’s vast natural resources — including our iconic forests — span from coast to coast to coast. These resources are developed to the highest environmental and labour standards and are respected around the world.
Natural resources drive many of our government’s top priorities, from building infrastructure and energy systems to developing the technology and partnerships we need to keep Canada’s economy strong, sustainable and sovereign for generations to come.
Forests are a cornerstone of Canada’s economy, generating wide-ranging benefits. In 2023, Canada’s forest sector contributed $27 billion to our nominal gross domestic product (GDP) and supported nearly 200,000 direct jobs, including jobs for nearly 11,000 Indigenous people. Some 300 communities across the country depend on the forest sector for their livelihoods.
In 2023, Canada’s forest sector exported more than $36 billion in products, from traditional goods to cutting-edge innovations like low-carbon technologies, biofuels and sustainable building materials.
Canada is a world leader in sustainable forest management and is confronting challenges head-on, including wildfires and climate change. With wildfires increasing in frequency and severity across Canada — impacting our health, economies, communities and wildlife — our government is taking the necessary measures by investing more than $800 million in wildfire resilience. This includes upgrading equipment and firefighter training, expanding FireSmart Canada, enhancing satellite monitoring and driving research and innovation. Canada acts decisively because that’s what leadership demands.
Today, Canada is at a pivotal moment. We are taking charge of our future, asserting our economic sovereignty and showing the world what purposeful leadership looks like. This includes continued work to defend our forest sector from unjustified trade measures on Canada’s softwood lumber exports. As part of this important work, Natural Resources Canada’s forest sector programs are supporting industry to further diversify forest products, processes and markets. Funding provided under these programs supports the adoption of new technologies and materials, increased participation of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in the Canadian economy, the promotion of innovation in building with wood and the expansion of Canada’s international engagement.
We want to seize every opportunity by using more Canadian technology, leveraging our world-class workforce and tapping into our vast forests to build what Canadians need. This will be critical when it comes to moving quickly on our promise to accelerate affordable home building using Canadian materials. The forest sector is central to our housing strategy, supporting thousands of families and communities, and it is key to our commitment to double the pace of housing construction through the Build Canada Homes program.
We won’t do this alone — partnerships are critical: with provinces and territories, with industry and labour, and with Indigenous Peoples. We are committed to real economic reconciliation. We are focused on outcomes: enabling $50 billion in international trade, increasing Indigenous participation and strengthening Canada’s domestic manufacturing capacity.
We have the resources. We have the talent. We have the drive. And we have the vision. That is why Canada will continue to lead in the global forest sector and deliver results that matter. We are committed to getting things done.
It is the time to build a Canada as strong, sustainable, resilient and rooted as our world-renowned forests.
The Honourable Tim Hodgson
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources