The importance of tree planting as wildfire seasons increase in severity
Posted April 27, 2026 7:27 pm.
Last Updated April 27, 2026 7:42 pm.
Wildfire season is once again upon us, and Manitobans are hoping this year is a reprieve from 2025, which was deemed the one most devastating in the province’s history. As the severity of wildfires increases, so too does the importance of reforestation and tree planting.
“Wildfires are more prevalent, and they’re more powerful, and part of the reason is the buildup of fuel, you know, you have diseases, you have shorter and milder winters, so there’s less snowpack and less moisture in the spring, so all these factors into making for a difficult situation,” said Randall Van Wagner, the head of national greening program, Tree Canada.
Van Wagner says while many areas regenerate on their own, more intense fires like what we saw last year cause more depth of burn in the soil, making it difficult for trees to regenerate. The organization estimates they’ve planted between 500,000 and one million trees in the past five years in Manitoba.
“This coming year we’re going to plant about 200,000, mainly in the Swan Valley Watershed, which is on the west side of the province, and that’s a three-year initiative which will plant over half a million trees in that watershed,” said Van Wagner.
University of Manitoba professor Shirley Thompson says she’s concerned that tree planting efforts could fall behind. Last fall, the federal government announced they’re winding down the two-billion-tree program, which funded tree planting.
“This is the decade of the United Nations ecosystem restoration, and two billion trees was in keeping with that, and by taking it away, it’s creating a less stable ecosystem, so this funding is so important to ensure that our communities are green, healthy,” said Thompson.
The program is still honouring previous commitments, like the agreement with Tree Canada, which is good until 2031. The province has also benefited from the program.
In a statement to CityNews, natural resources minister Ian Bushie said, “Canada’s boreal forest is the largest intact forest in the world, and our government is committed to making sure the Manitoba portion of it remains like that in a healthy, sustainable way. Through agreements made ahead of time with the federal government, the Two Billion Tree Initiative continues in Manitoba until 2031. This year, we plan to plant 850,000 seedlings to reforest Crown Land affected by wildfires, insects, or other natural events.”
