Ottawa’s much-hyped plan to plant two billion trees is falling far short, with just 228 million planted to date — a staggering 89% below target despite nearly $268 million already spent.Blacklock's Reporter says the Trudeau government rolled out the pledge in 2019 as part of its climate agenda, promising billions of new trees within a decade. But figures from the Department of Natural Resources show the program has produced fewer trees than forestry companies routinely plant on their own each year as a condition of logging.“The government remains committed to restoring and conserving nature and biodiversity,” the department insisted in a statement, calling nature “part of Canada’s identity.”.Canada already has about 318 billion trees, according to Yale researchers, with 600 million new trees typically planted annually by industry. Critics have long called the Liberal plan a political gimmick. The Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society dismissed the program as “overrated,” noting it would take 10 billion mature trees — not seedlings — to offset Canada’s yearly carbon emissions.Despite its underperformance, Ottawa has poured $267.7 million into the program so far, with the Parliamentary Budget Office warning total costs could hit nearly $6 billion. .Senior managers at Natural Resources admitted last year the government never expected to actually plant two billion trees, describing the pledge instead as an attempt to “rally interest.”Pressed by Conservative MPs, officials conceded the program was designed to count trees planted under unrelated federal initiatives. Asked bluntly why the program was called “two billion trees” if it would not deliver that number, a senior bureaucrat admitted: “It’s a good question.”The department confirmed about 50 federal employees are currently assigned to the file.
