Growing Canada’s Community Canopies (GCCC)
2024-25 saw the launch of Growing Canada's Community Canopies (GCCC), a $291 million initiative funded through the Government of Canada's 2 Billion Trees program, that will help municipalities plant 1.2 million trees by 2031. The initiative works closely with Tree Canada, drawing on an established Canadian centre of urban forestry expertise to deliver coaching and support to community projects—particularly to smaller communities that need it most.
Overview
A healthy tree canopy improves air quality and gets residents outside to enjoy nature, while providing a first line of defence against urban heat islands that magnify the hazards of climate-induced warming. That makes new tree planting projects an affordable, practical way to simultaneously foster community, protect vulnerable populations from heat stress, improve stormwater management, boost biodiversity and enhance overall quality of life.
Any effort to manage, protect and expand local tree cover starts with planting the right trees in the right places—not only by matching specific species to appropriate planting spots, but by prioritizing neighbourhoods and communities in greatest need. To qualify for GCCC funding, municipalities must demonstrate that they have a plan to maintain and monitor the trees, and GCCC also provides training and capacity development through a partnership with Trees Canada, with emphasis on monitoring, maintenance, equity and biodiversity.
Tree cover is often most limited in marginalized and equity-deserving areas that are already most vulnerable to climate change and its impacts. Urban forestry initiatives are one accessible way for public, private and institutional organizations to make a difference on quality of life and social equity concerns, while also strengthening local climate resilience.
In 2024-25, the initiative issued three calls for funding applications that generated 163 requests for planting funding, demonstrating local demand and willingness to pursue these types of projects.
To increase communities tree canopy knowledge, in the initiative's first year, 10 factsheets were produced, cultivating municipal staff knowledge about trees on topics ranging from planning to planting. Working with Tree Canada for local capacity development it provided training, coaching, and peer review of urban forest practitioners.