Ontario invests $17.3M in four northern forestry projects to modernize mills

What this does

• Ontario is investing over $17.3 million across four projects in Northern Ontario to modernize forest-sector manufacturing and increase use of mill by-products and underused forest biomass.

By the numbers

• Total announced: over $17.3 million to four projects.
• Jobs: protect over 320 existing positions, create six direct jobs now, and support more than 600 indirect jobs; one planned biofuel facility has long-term potential for about 30 direct and 70 indirect jobs.
• Biomass demand: projects could add yearly demand for over 500,000 tonnes of forest biomass.

Who and what is funded

• Interfor (Elk Lake sawmill): over $9.6 million for a biomass-powered energy system that the release says will raise production by 27%, cut natural gas use by 80%, and lower annual operating costs by nearly $3 million.
• GreenFirst Forest Products (Chapleau): over $5.9 million for a new production line to increase productivity by 24%, plus more than $1.6 million for a biofuel feasibility/ planning project with long-term job potential.
• Atlantic Power (Calstock Power Plant): over $180,000 to upgrade the steam turbine control system to maintain reliable bioenergy generation.

Program context

• Funding comes from the Forest Sector Investment and Innovation Program and the Forest Biomass Program.
• The release notes about $90 million approved under the Investment and Innovation Program (leveraging roughly $420 million in external investment) and over $83 million committed under the Forest Biomass Program to 71 projects (leveraging about $276 million in external funding).
• The province frames the investments as part of a 10-year Roadmap to Protecting Ontario’s Forest Sector.

Why it matters

• The upgrades aim to improve mill competitiveness, reduce fossil fuel use at mills, expand markets for biomass and by-products, and reinforce local supply-chain work for harvesters, transporters and suppliers.