N.B. Digital Forestry Centre 2026 — Ottawa Pledges Up to $50M for a ‘Digital Twin’ of New Brunswick’s Forests

Canadian forestry news — the federal government is putting up to $50 million behind a new Digital Forestry Centre in New Brunswick that would build a “digital twin” of the province’s forests, letting the industry simulate harvests, wildfires and pest outbreaks before a single tree is cut. It is the boldest bet Ottawa has placed on the forest sector in years, and it lands at a moment when U.S. tariffs, low pulp prices and a looming mill shutdown have the industry holding its breath.

By Maplestime Business Desk | Fredericton, New Brunswick | October 15, 2026

Sources: Natural Resources Canada, The Canadian Press, Pulp and Paper Chronicle | Last updated: October 15, 2026

Key Takeaways

• Federal Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson announced on Oct. 13 that Ottawa will invest up to $50 million to establish the New Brunswick Strategic Innovation Centre in Digital Forestry.
• The $86-million project, led by the Northern Hardwoods Research Institute with ResearchNB, will create a digital replica of N.B.’s forests to track fibre supply, predict wildfires and pests, and match wood to the mills that need it most.
• The money is conditional on final project approval and due diligence; Ottawa says the centre could become a model for other regions, with Budget 2026 set to detail a full federal forest sector strategy.
• NHRI executive director Gaetan Pelletier estimates the centre could help the province’s forestry industry cut costs by about $25 million a year.

What the Digital Forestry Centre Will Do

The centre is not a sawmill, a lab, or a research station in the old sense. It is digital infrastructure — a pilot to digitize the entire forest sector so industry and government can identify, track and use wood fibre across the supply chain. By increasing certainty around fibre supply and matching that fibre to each mill’s specific manufacturing requirements, Ottawa says the initiative will attract investment, cut costs and improve operational efficiency.

The “digital twin” idea is the headline feature of the Digital Forestry Centre. Foresters will be able to simulate harvesting operations, reforestation plans and wildfire management strategies in a digital copy of the forest before implementing them in the field. “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,” Hodgson said at the Fredericton announcement.

One of the centre’s practical promises is centralized dispatching for log transportation — cutting the empty truck miles that bleed money from the supply chain. New Brunswick Natural Resources Minister John Herron compared the proposed system to an “Uber in the forest,” describing its potential to transform transportation logistics.

Why Now: Tariffs, Low Pulp Prices and a Mill Shutdown

The announcement did not arrive in a vacuum. The forest sector supports nearly 200,000 Canadian jobs and contributed $23.5 billion to GDP in 2024, according to Natural Resources Canada, but it is under heavy pressure: unjustified U.S. tariffs, climate change, tightening supply and changing global demand.

In New Brunswick, forestry contributes about $1.5 billion annually to the economy and supports roughly 9,700 direct jobs plus 14,100 more, per provincial figures. And the pain is immediate: the owners of the aging pulp mill in Nackawic recently announced a temporary shutdown starting Nov. 4, resulting in hundreds of layoffs, as the industry battles tightening supply, higher operating costs, low pulp prices and tariffs on Canadian wood products exported to the United States. It is against that backdrop that the Digital Forestry Centre pitch was made.

Herron called forestry “New Brunswick’s leading economic driver and an industry that impacts and connects every region of our province,” adding that he could “think of no better home for the new Strategic Innovation Centre in Digital Forestry than right here.”

Related: N.B. Mactaquac Grid 2026 — Federal Dollars Flow to New Brunswick’s Energy Future

The Digital Forestry Centre Price Tag and Partners

The project is estimated at $86 million total. Ottawa’s contribution of up to $50 million is conditional on project approval and due diligence, and the remaining funding will largely come from the provincial government, Herron said.

The initiative is led by the Northern Hardwoods Research Institute in collaboration with ResearchNB — which, according to the federal announcement, are proven organizations with the research strength and industry expertise to deliver. The Canadian Forest Service is also part of the collaboration. A 2024 independent analysis by the international consulting firm AFRY had concluded that a digitalization strategy for the entire sector was instrumental to its transformation and resilience.

The federal government also says the New Brunswick model could be replicated elsewhere: the digital infrastructure is meant to place the province at the forefront of innovation and support the long-term resilience of Canada’s forest industry as a whole.

What Comes Next: A Federal Forest Sector Strategy

Hodgson confirmed that Budget 2026 will contain further details on a federal forest sector strategy. The strategy will detail Canada’s plan for a competitive, sustainable and prosperous forest sector that supports communities, creates jobs and provides world-class products to customers at home and around the world — and will support projects like the Strategic Innovation Centre in Digital Forestry.

Trade press reporting suggests the coming strategy will involve billions of dollars in funding, though a Natural Resources Canada spokesperson provided no further details. For now, the Digital Forestry Centre’s proponents are selling a concrete number: about $25 million a year in industry savings, with job creation through diversification rather than layoffs, according to Pelletier.

Whether the Digital Forestry Centre can actually save a province’s forest sector from tariffs, fires and thin margins is the question the next two years will answer. But as of this week, Ottawa has decided the answer starts with $50 million and a forest that exists inside a computer first.

Maplestime will provide updates from the N.B. Digital Forestry Centre as announcements are made.

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Is a digital twin the innovation that saves New Brunswick forestry — or is it a $86-million tech dream that cannot fix tariffs and mill shutdowns? Tell us in the comments. And share this with every Canadian following the forest sector and the trade war this week.