The federal government is shutting down its long-promised Two Billion Trees Program after six years, $267.7 million spent and the work of 50 federal employees, acknowledging the initiative fell far short of its ambitious target.Launched in 2019 by then-environment minister Catherine McKenna as a “huge asset,” the program aimed to plant two billion trees within a decade. Canada Strong, the federal budget document, said existing agreements would be honoured but uncommitted funds would be returned.“The government will wind down the Two Billion Trees Program,” the finance department said.Blacklock's Reporter said critics were quick to deride the announcement. Bloc Québécois MP Christine Normandin called it a “retreat after retreat,” noting the Liberals had been unable to deliver on their tree-planting promises. The Canadian Tree Nursery Association called the wind-down “a profound disappointment” and lamented the loss of a foundational federal commitment..In reality, the program fell far short of its goal. The Department of Natural Resources confirmed that only 228 million trees were planted at a total cost of $267.7 million. A 2021 Budget Office report had predicted the full program would have cost $5.94 billion. Internal memos later admitted the government never truly intended to plant two billion trees, describing the program more as an aspirational brand than a literal plan.Critics also questioned the environmental impact of the initiative. .The Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society noted that even billions of new seedlings would do little to offset Canada’s 730 million tonnes of annual carbon emissions, which would require tens of billions of mature trees decades old to meaningfully sequester.Canada already boasts 318 billion trees, with forestry companies planting an average of 600 million annually as part of Crown land logging conditions, underscoring the limited incremental impact of the federal program.The end of the Two Billion Trees Program marks the latest in a series of high-profile environmental initiatives abandoned by the current government, leaving environmentalists and opposition MPs critical of Ottawa’s follow-through.
