Ontario Launches Advanced Wood Construction Working Group

Province protecting forestry jobs and building homes and buildings faster by promoting the use of innovative, Ontario-made wood construction

The Ontario government has launched a new working group to guide the implementation of the Advanced Wood Construction Action Plan: Ontario’s blueprint for education, research and investment in the fast-growing sector of prefabricated and modular wood-based building materials, known as advanced wood construction. The action plan was launched earlier this year to support the government’s plan to protect Ontario by promoting the use of more wood-based building materials that can help build more homes and buildings faster and create a more resilient forestry sector in response to U.S. tariffs.

“Our government has assembled leaders and experts from a variety of sectors into a working group that will seize the potential of advanced wood construction and revolutionize how we build Ontario,” said Associate Minister Holland. “We will continue to deliver on our plan to protect Ontario’s forest sector businesses and workers by building a strong, resilient forest sector that can stand strong in the face of U.S. tariffs.”

The new working group will harness Ontario’s advanced wood construction expertise to promote, prioritize and accelerate wood-based building, provide strategic advice to unlock new business opportunities and position the province to compete in the global market. Group members will also champion the action plan in their individual sectors, fostering new connections and opportunities to attract investment and support economic opportunities that create and sustain local jobs.

“Industrialized wood construction is one of the fastest ways to deliver the housing Ontario needs and to grow value-added manufacturing here at home,” said Steven Street, Executive Director of the Canadian Wood Council’s WoodWorks Ontario program. “This plan creates new opportunities for skilled workers and positions Ontario to lead a rapidly evolving construction landscape with a more resilient, efficient, and future-focused building ecosystem.”

Locally made mass timber and wood construction can be used to build modular and prefabricated buildings, including mid-rise and tall multi-family homes and a wide variety of commercial and industrial buildings. Advanced wood construction can complete projects up to 50 per cent faster and cut costs by up to 20 per cent, making it essential to achieving the government’s goal of building more homes.

The working group will complement Ontario’s significant investments to promote and develop wood-based building. In addition to the government’s investment of $50 million to explore modular construction and other innovative building methods, Ontario’s significant investments include:

• Over $16 million in grants and loans to establish and scale up production at Element5, Ontario’s first fully-automated manufacturer of cross-laminated timber, an advanced wood construction product
• $10 million for the future Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital, North America’s first “un-encapsulated” mass timber hospital
• Close to $2 million to assist the Canadian Wood Council in promoting wood-based construction through education, training and advancing codes and standards that promote building with wood
• Over $1 million to build Limberlost Place at George Brown College, Ontario’s first mass timber, net-zero carbon emissions institutional building
• Over $1 million to advance wood construction research and collaboration led by FPInnovations and the Canadian Wood Construction Research Network
• Over $500,000 to build the University of Toronto’s Academic Tower: one of the tallest mass timber and steel hybrid buildings in North America

Launching this working group is one more step the government is taking to protect forestry jobs and build a stronger, more resilient forest sector, while delivering on commitments to workers, businesses and communities set out in Sustainable Growth: Ontario’s Forest Sector Strategy and the Forest Biomass Action Plan.

Quick Facts

• The Advanced Wood Construction Action Plan complements the government’s ongoing actions to increase wood-based building, including supporting building code amendments, developing technical resources and engaging with fire services, insurers and other key stakeholders to build acceptance of wooden construction.
• The forest sector generated $21.6 billion in revenue from the sale of manufactured goods and services in 2023 and supported 128,000 direct and indirect jobs in 2024.