Canada plans to invest up to C$50 million to establish a digital forestry centre in New Brunswick as the forest sector faces U.S. tariffs, climate change and changing consumer and global demand. The investment remains conditional on project approval and final due diligence, Natural Resources Canada announced.
The Northern Hardwoods Research Institute will lead the proposed New Brunswick Strategic Innovation Centre in Digital Forestry in collaboration with ResearchNB. The project has an estimated value of C$86 million and will establish a pilot for digitalizing the forest sector.
The pilot will develop digital infrastructure to identify, track and use wood fibre resources across the supply chain. Forest products manufacturers depend on these supplies to make lumber, paper, packaging and other products, but wildfires and pests have made their availability increasingly uncertain.
The initiative aims to make fibre supplies more predictable and match available wood to facilities’ specific manufacturing requirements. Its stated goals include attracting investment, reducing costs and improving operational efficiency for businesses in New Brunswick. The project will also create a model that other regions can use.
The collaboration includes the Canadian Forest Service and participants from across the forest sector. A sector analysis conducted in 2024 by consulting firm AFRY identified digitalization across the industry as a requirement for its transformation and resilience.
Budget 2026 will provide further details on the federal forest sector strategy. The strategy will outline plans to maintain forest sector employment, sustain communities and supply products to domestic and international customers, including through projects such as the proposed centre.
The strategy will build on the Canadian Forest Sector Transformation Task Force’s report, released in June 2026. It will also draw on consultations with provinces, territories, Indigenous partners and stakeholders on the federal Draft Action Plan to Transform Canada’s Forest Sector, which was released that month and incorporated the task force’s recommendations.