The federal government's 2019 initiative to plant two billion trees over 10 years, led by then-Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, is 89% short of its target and has cost $267.7 million to date.

Natural Resources Canada reported only 228 million trees planted, far short of the two-billion-tree pledge and less than half of what forestry companies plant annually, according to Blacklock’s.

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“The government remains committed to restoring and conserving nature and biodiversity,” said the department. “Nature is part of Canada’s identity.”

.@NRCan says it's 89% short of meeting @CathMcKenna target to plant 2B trees in 10 yrs. Cost to date? $267,700,000: "The gov't remains committed." https://t.co/dOQZDMxdEI #cdnpoli @JonathanWNV @s_guilbeault @juliedabrusin pic.twitter.com/kDbQrp1qfO

— Blacklock's Reporter (@mindingottawa) September 2, 2025

Documents show the feds did not intend for the “two billion trees” target to be taken literally. “The government sought a name that would inspire that commitment and participation,” said a February 15 Department of Natural Resources memo. “So far that has worked.”

The point was to “rally interest,” testified Monique Frisson, director general responsible for tree planting. “How many trees is the two billion trees program supposed to plant?” asked Conservative MP Michael Kram. “I mean, 1.85 billion, 1.9 billion,” replied Frisson.

MP Kram then questioned if the two billion trees program would achieve its goal. Frisson clarified that the initiative always intended to count trees planted across various government programs, not solely those under the specific "two billion trees" program.

Director Frisson noted roughly 50 public servants are involved in the program, which aims to create 3,500 annual seasonal jobs to combat climate change.

It will take a generation to see any climate benefit from cabinet’s proposal to plant two billion trees, the Department of Natural Resources said yesterday. The 2019 election promise announced by then-Environment Minister Catherine McKenna will cost $5.9 billion, by Budget Office…

— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) May 22, 2024

Facing criticism from environmental groups, McKenna’s plan was written off as “overrated” by the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society in a 2024 Bulletin. 

It states that 10 billion mature trees (50-100 years old), not seedlings, would be needed to sequester Canada's 730 million tonnes of annual carbon emissions. This makes tree planting useful for long-term carbon drawdown, but not for countering annual emissions.

On March 30, Cabinet reported spending $267.7 million on the tree-planting project, despite the Budget Office's 2021 prediction of $5.94 billion in total expenses.

Canada, per Yale School of Forestry, already possessed 318 billion trees, with forestry companies planting 600 million annually as a condition for logging Crown land.

Environment Commissioner Jerry DeMarco stated in 2023 that the pledge was unlikely to manifest. Auditor Kimberly Leach later admitted the two billion benchmark would only happen with help from other levels of government.

The Liberal government's pledge to plant two billion trees by 2031 — after officially launching the project in 2021 — is falling far short, with Commissioner DeMarco projecting only 393 million trees by that time.

DeMarco also condemned Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN) for inflating its numbers by using trees planted under a different program by another department.

Interim figures for trees planted include those from the Low Carbon Economy Fund, as confirmed by then-Natural Resource Minister Jonathan Wilkinson.

“It's creative accounting,” DeMarco testified at the Commons natural resources committee on June 13, 2023. “It's certainly within their prerogative to do that.” Ottawa planted 28.9 million trees at the time.