The Government of Canada has made significant investments — $1.8 billion since 2007 — in the transformation of the forest industry. A key part of the industry’s transformation is market diversification.

Our Government is collaborating with provincial and industry partners to promote and create new opportunities for Canadian forest products producers in domestic and global markets. Through these targeted investments, the Government is supporting the competitiveness of this country’s forest industry and creating jobs and benefits for Canadians.

The Expanding Market Opportunities Program (EMO) has increased offshore exports and wood use in non-residential and mid-rise construction in North America.

Natural Resources Canada funds a maximum of 50 percent for the EMO program’s activities and initiatives. The balance is funded by the forest industry and provinces.

Federal investments under this program support market diversification and expansion activities such as:

• international representation through offshore offices;
• education and training in use of wood in non-residential and mid-rise (five and six-storey) construction to architects and engineers across Canada;
• technical support to address market access and regulatory issues; and
• activities that support the forest sector’s environmental reputation.  

This market diversification strategy has helped Canada’s wood product sector increase its exports in some rapidly-growing Asian emerging economies over the past decade. For example, the value of Canadian wood product exports to China increased more than 11-fold between 2007 and 2014 to $1.9 billion. In South Korea, they grew by 98 percent to $221.6 million during the same period.  

The North American component of the EMO program has supported industry efforts to increase wood use in non-residential buildings such as schools, health care facilities and commercial outlets and in mid-rise buildings up to six storeys.

As a result, wood has been used in more than 1,800 non-residential/mid-rise construction projects in Canada and the United States since 2007, representing an estimated $791 million in new wood sales for the wood products sector. It also encompasses critical work to advance tall wood demonstration projects (greater than ten storeys) and modernize building codes to increase height limits for wood structures.

For more information, visit Natural Resources Canada on the web.

Media may contact:

Office of Canada's Minister of     
Natural Resources            
613-996-2007

Or:

Media Relations
Natural Resources Canada
Ottawa 
613-992-4447