The Canadian government has decided to abandon its target of planting two billion trees by 2031 as outlined in the upcoming budget, sources familiar with the matter revealed. Currently, the government has existing contracts to fulfill the planting of one billion trees, according to one source. The initial report on this development came from the Globe and Mail.
Prime Minister Mark Carney had previously mentioned that the budget would feature a “climate competitiveness strategy.” However, this tree-planting initiative is another significant climate policy from the Trudeau era that Carney has opted to discontinue, following the cessation of the consumer carbon tax and the postponement of the electric vehicle sales mandate.
Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had announced the tree-planting program during the 2019 election campaign and had allocated $3.2 billion over a decade for the initiative. Uncommitted funding earmarked for this program will now be redirected elsewhere, as per a source.
Although Trudeau had initially been presented with a plan to plant one billion trees, he had pushed to double that target. To date, over 228 million trees have been planted, leaving a substantial gap of more than 1.7 billion trees to reach the 2030-31 goal, according to the latest update from Natural Resources Canada.
Carney has indicated a forthcoming reduction in government spending and a commitment to balancing day-to-day expenditure within three years. The government is currently focusing on streamlining program delivery, adjusting programs, and modernizing operations through an expenditure review process.
Despite anticipated budget cuts, Carney has disclosed that the deficit in the upcoming budget will surpass that in the previous fiscal update. The budget will introduce changes to the tax structure aimed at fostering competition and growth, including modifications to the tax credit enabling businesses to deduct capital expenses.
The sources providing this information have not been named by CBC News due to a lack of authorization to publicly discuss the budget’s content.