The Government of Canada has announced that its Two Billion Trees (2BT) campaign ended its first planting season with 97% of its 30 million tree goal, a success for both the government and its planting partners. This means that approximately 29 million trees from over 150 different species are now growing at over 500 sites across Canada.

The 2BT campaign is part of Canada’s efforts to tackle of climate change and biodiversity loss. Trees capture and store carbon from the atmosphere, improve air and water quality, support biodiversity, and create and support thousands of good jobs.

In its first year, the program planned to plant 30 million trees through a series of partner projects. Each project was subject to a review by an independent expert panel to confirm that it would meet the program’s objectives. Nearly one in every five projects was Indigenous-led.

The number of trees are calculated by program partners after their planting activities are completed. This is necessary because conditions on the ground at planting sites may cause the number of trees planted to differ slightly from the number of trees funded in any given year. These planting projects will restore nature, enhance biodiversity, create forest ecosystems on fire-damaged land, increase carbon capture, and create parks and greenspaces.

Over the remaining nine years of the program, partner organizations will continue the tree-planting journey – from seeds to seedlings, to saplings, to trees in the ground. Interest in future projects is high: the 2BT program received over 200 project applications this year. Moving forward, the Government of Canada is entering into longer-term agreements to secure planting over 10 years. By 2026, the program aims to plant 250 to 350 million trees annually, with each planting project undergoing the same expert panel review process as this year’s projects.

“I’m pleased to report that the very first planting season under the Two Billion Trees program has been a success,” stated the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources Canada. “We have achieved 97% of our planting target and are on track to plant two billion trees over the course of 10 years. I would like to thank our project partners for their work in making this program a success.”