Ottawa pledges $50 million for digital forestry centre in New Brunswick
The centre will create a digital twin of the province's forests to simulate harvesting and wildfire management.
FREDERICTON · The federal government will provide $50 million to create a digital forestry centre in New Brunswick. Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson announced the funding for the Strategic Innovation Centre in Digital Forestry on Wednesday. The centre will build a digital replica of the province's forests to help the industry lower costs and improve wood supply. The total project is valued at $86 million and requires final approval for the federal money to be released.
Hodgson said the digital model will let foresters test ideas virtually before implementing them in the real world. "Being able to do those all in a digital world first saves an immense amount of money and actually teaches you how to manage the forest better," he said. The platform could simulate logging schedules, replanting strategies and wildfire response plans. It will also feature a centralized dispatch system to make log trucking more efficient.
Provincial Natural Resources Minister John Herron compared the logistics system to an "Uber in the forest". The centre is a joint effort by the Northern Hardwood Research Institute and Research New Brunswick. Gaetan Pelletier, executive director of the institute, estimated the technology could cut industry costs by roughly $25 million each year in the province. He said the move toward technology would generate new jobs rather than cause layoffs.
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"I'm honestly a firm believer that this will create the most interesting jobs in the forest sector," Pelletier said. The provincial government is expected to supply most of the remaining funding. Research New Brunswick stated the digital twin could also forecast wildfire hotspots and pest outbreaks. Federal officials said the New Brunswick centre might serve as a template for other regions across Canada.
The forestry sector contributes approximately $1.5 billion annually to New Brunswick's economy. It supports about 9,700 direct jobs and another 14,100 indirect positions. However, the national industry faces challenges including tight wood supply, high operating expenses, low pulp prices and U.S. tariffs. A pulp mill in Nackawic recently announced a temporary shutdown starting Nov. 4, affecting hundreds of workers.
Hodgson confirmed a national forestry strategy will be unveiled in the upcoming federal budget next month. "The strategy will acknowledge that the future of our forestry sector will not be defined simply by our resources -- it will be defined how intelligently we use them," he said. A Natural Resources Canada spokesperson said the strategy will involve billions in funding but gave no details. Federal Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said the plan aims to foster more projects like the digital forestry centre.
With files from The Canadian Press, BNN Bloomberg and The Globe and Mail