Canada Invests in Forest Sector Projects to Expand Markets and Wood Innovation
The federal government has announced nearly $130 million for 56 forest sector projects across Canada, with several aimed at expanding export capacity, mass timber construction and value-added wood manufacturing.
The funding was announced June 3, 2026, by Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, as part of Canada’s broader forest sector transformation plan. The projects are intended to support low-carbon wood technologies, Indigenous participation, export diversification and new markets for Canadian wood products.
For secondary wood manufacturers, one of the most relevant projects is the WMCO Leadership Program, led by the Wood Manufacturing Cluster of Ontario in Hanover, Ont. The project received $66,700 through the Global Forest Leadership Program to provide small and medium-sized enterprises with market and export knowledge to strengthen their international capacity for innovative wood products.
Other funded projects point to Ottawa’s focus on engineered wood, prefabrication and advanced manufacturing. Daiken North America Ltd. received $7.5 million to retrofit its Huntsville, Ont., facility to produce a next-generation engineered wood panel using underutilized fibre such as poplar. The project is expected to support domestic production of advanced building materials for markets such as modular construction and prefabricated housing.
Intelligent City Inc. received $4.8 million for a large-scale mass timber housing facility in the Greater Toronto Area capable of producing up to 1,000 units annually using robotics, automation and digital design.
ELEMENT5 LP received $4 million to modernize its St. Thomas, Ont., mass timber facility with AI-assisted lumber grading and automated production systems.
Other value-added projects include LVL Global Inc., which received $3.5 million to manufacture laminated veneer lumber from poplar in Quebec, and F&T Technologies Inc., which received $925,000 for lignin-based coated wood products in British Columbia.
Together, the projects reflect federal support for export readiness, mass timber, automation and higher-value uses for Canadian wood fibre.