Biomass tax credit and market support
Petitioners ask the Government to increase funding for market expansion of Canadian wood products and enact a biomass tax credit. The government responds it announced supports and extended clean-energy tax credits to cover waste biomass.
Why we would sign this petition
- Could boost demand for Canadian wood and open new markets, helping preserve and create jobs in rural communities hit by recent industry losses.
- A biomass tax credit would reduce the sector’s competitive disadvantage versus U.S. incentives, encouraging investment in Canadian forestry and bioenergy.
- Promoting biomass energy can diversify electricity supplies and add revenue streams for forest businesses while creating local rural jobs.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Requires federal funds and tax relief that could strain budgets or divert spending from other priorities.
- Biomass energy raises sustainability and emissions concerns; it may not be clearly low‑carbon and could have local ecological impacts.
- Market expansion and credits may not address root causes of job losses (wildfires, infestations, trade disputes); targeted mitigation or worker supports might be more effective.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
PETITION TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS IN PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED We, the undersigned residents of Canada, draw the attention of the House of Commons in Parliament Assembled to the following: Whereas Canada's forestry industry has historically been a source of good jobs for rural communities; The forestry industry has faced multiple challenges in recent years that have led to significant job losses including wildfires, infestations, and the ongoing softwood lumber dispute; U.S. trade policy poses a serious threat to Canada's forestry industry as well as the communities it supports; Forest biomass energy production has the potential to provide Canadian electrical grids with a sustainable source of energy while creating jobs for rural communities; and Canada's failure to implement biomass tax incentives has left our forestry sector at a competitive disadvantage compared to the U.S. Therefore, We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada call upon the Government of Canada to commit to: 1. Increase federal funding for market expansion programs to find new customers for Canadian wood products and construction systems; and 2. Commit to the timely passage of a biomass tax credit to support Canadian forestry jobs.
Government response
Response by the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Signed by The Honourable Tim Hodgson, P.C., M.P. The Government supports Canada’s forest sector and the growing demand for Canadian forest sector products – both at home and abroad. Supports include efforts to expand domestic and international markets for Canadian forest products. On August 5th, 2025, the Government announced $1.25 billion in supports for Canada’s forest sector to help the sector transform to remain competitive, including in the face of increasing softwood lumber duties and tariffs by the United States. This includes $500 million to supercharge product and market diversification and make the industry more competitive globally. Funds will seek to accelerate domestic and international market development, including offshore market diversification. Natural Resources Canada’s suite of forest industry transformation programs helps diversify and expand revenue streams and contribute to the resilience of the sector. The Global Forest Leadership program will continue strengthening international partnerships and reinvigorate programming to diversify and open new international markets for Canada's sustainably sourced forest products. The Government’s commitment of $700 million to enable the Business Development Bank of Canada to deliver new term loans or letters of credit through financial institutions, and of $50 million in support for forest sector workers worker delivered through Employment and Social Development Canada, are complementary ways of supporting and retooling the forest sector to protect jobs and to strengthen competitiveness and resilience. The Government has also announced a Buy Canadian policy to ensure the federal government buys from Canadian suppliers and the government is stepping up with a bold new approach and unprecedented investments to increase the housing supply in Canada through Build Canada Homes which will create domestic markets for mass timber and other advanced wood products. In addition, Budget 2025 announced the expansion of the Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit to include systems that produce electricity, heat, or both electricity and heat from waste biomass. This measure will complement the suite of supports the Government of Canada is putting forward to strengthen Canada’s forest sector and protect forest industry jobs. Response by the Minister of Finance and National Revenue Signed by The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne The 2023 Fall Economic Statement proposed to expand eligibility for the 30-percent Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit to include systems that produce electricity, heat, or both electricity and heat from waste biomass. This expansion would be available to businesses investing in eligible property that is acquired and becomes available for use on or after November 21, 2023. The 2023 Fall Economic Statement also proposed to expand eligibility for the 15-percent Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit to include systems that produce electricity or both electricity and heat from waste biomass. This expansion would generally be available to taxable and certain non-taxable businesses investing in eligible property that is acquired and becomes available for use on or after April 16, 2024. In Budget 2025, the Government confirmed that it would proceed with the implementation of the proposed measures. Legislative amendments for these measures were introduced in Parliament on November 18, 2025, as part of Bill C-15, Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1.