Canada’s forest industry has transformed itself into one of the most innovative sectors of our economy, investing in research, developing new products and expanding its markets as it also sets the pace on environmental performance.
Hundreds of thousands of Canadian workers and their local communities depend upon this industry’s continued success to support good middle-class jobs, create new opportunities and ensure sustainable prosperity for generations to come.
Federal cabinet ministers are targeting new markets around the globe in a concerted effort to enhance trade and market diversification for Canadian wood and wood products as part of the clean-growth economy.
International Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne is in China to promote the use of Canadian wood in home construction while Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade, is in Vietnam, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam to explore further opportunities for Canadian wood exporters in the Asia-Pacific region.
Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Jim Carr, will also lead a delegation of Canadian forestry leaders to China in early June to maintain momentum from Minister Champagne’s efforts this week.
These trade missions build on the $6 million in funding provided this year by Natural Resources Canada’s Expanding Market Opportunities program to eight Canadian forest product associations to promote Canadian wood products in overseas markets, and $18 million to FPInnovations for research and development. In addition, Budget 2017 announced measures to continue investing in Canada’s forest sector, including $40 million over four years to support projects and activities that increase the use of wood in construction. This helps create new markets for sustainable Canadian products.
These initiatives are part of the Government of Canada’s continuing effort to maintain and increase access to global markets for Canadian wood and wood products.