Tree promise to cost $2.78 billion more than planned: PBO

The parliamentary budget office says a pledge by the Trudeau Liberals to plant two billion trees could cost almost double what the government says.

The tree-planting spree, spread over a decade, is supposed to start in the spring and cost $3.16 billion over that time, based on federal estimates.

Getting to the 2030 target means planting about 200 million trees a year more than the usual 600 million or so.

The spending watchdog’s analysis suggests getting there is also going to require more money, about $2.78 billion more, bringing the overall cost closer to $5.94 billion.

The budget officer’s report is based on a similar program the Ontario government ran, using the average per-tree cost and adjusting for inflation over the 10-year planting period.

The tree-planting promise made during the 2019 federal election was part of a $3-billion, decade-long effort aimed at managing, conserving and restoring the country’s forests, grasslands and wetlands.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, speaking Tuesday at an online event hosed by the World Economic Forum, linked the effort to the government’s promise for a green economic recovery and on job creation.

“Planting those trees is jobs too. And I have to say it also gets Canadians really excited. It gives people a personal hands-on investment in what it means to be building a green future,” she said.

The program was to take root this fiscal year, which closes at the end of March, but the government hadn’t budgeted any money for the effort and also chalked up delays to the COVID-19 pandemic.