Canada Supporting Sustainable and Innovative Construction With Wood

February 3, 2022                                     Ottawa, Ontario                                    Natural Resources Canada

Investing in Canada’s forest sector by building sustainable communities is an investment in our future. Encouraging the increased use of wood in Canada’s construction industry will help achieve our climate change goals while increasing the demand for Canadian wood products and creating good jobs for Canadians.

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, today announced an $887,000 investment to support the replacement of the Duchesnay Creek Bridge that connects the City of North Bay and the Nipissing First Nation. The Government of Ontario contributed $17 million. The bridge opened in August 2021.

This funding supported the design and construction of the new replacement bridge and was made with the intention of maintaining the original timber aesthetic of the old bridge. The bridge was built through a limited partnership of Nipissing First Nation and Miller Paving, which provided employment and training opportunities for the community. This high-visibility project will help promote the use of mass timber in highway bridges across Canada. By building with wood, this project will result in a total carbon benefit of 991 metric tonnes of CO₂, which is equivalent to taking over 190 cars off the road for a full year.

“When partners work together, great things get built and communities thrive.” Said Minister of Indigenous Services, Patty Hajdu, “Using green construction materials and including employment and training opportunities with the local community, this project shows others how to make sure what we build as a country can help with our goals of a cleaner and more inclusive country. A big congratulations to all involved.”

Funding for this project is provided through Natural Resources Canada’s Green Construction through Wood (GCWood) program, which encourages the use of wood in non-traditional construction projects, such as tall and low-rise non-residential buildings and bridges. The program aims to position Canada as a world leader in innovative timber construction systems and technologies and in the low-carbon economy.

Projects like this will help Canada achieve its 2030 climate change goals by finding effective ways of building infrastructure sustainably using Canadian wood products while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.