Ontario is investing $10 million in Georgia-Pacific North Woods to support a $191 million upgrade of the company’s oriented strand board plant in Englehart, with the project set to increase production by 14 per cent and protect more than 220 jobs at the site. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources said the investment is part of the province’s plan to help forest-sector businesses adapt, compete and grow in the face of U.S. tariffs.
The project includes upgrades to log processing operations, construction of new facilities, expansion of on-site storage, and installation of modern equipment. Georgia-Pacific will also acquire a thermal energy system that will use wood by-products to produce heat and power for the facility.
The funding is being provided through Ontario’s Forest Biomass Program. The program invests up to $20 million each year in projects intended to increase biomass usage and develop new uses for wood with industry, stakeholders, and Indigenous communities.
Ontario’s forest sector generates almost $21 billion in business revenue and supports close to 155,000 jobs. Since the program launched in 2023, it has committed over $65 million to more than 55 projects, securing close to $250 million in additional external funding and creating more than 110 new jobs.
Ontario released its Roadmap to Protecting Ontario’s Forest Sector on April 28, outlining a 10-year plan for the industry. The release also notes the Forest Biomass Program funding for Georgia-Pacific follows a recent $5.5 million provincial investment in Greenwater Technology tied to a commercial pathway for biofuel production.
Georgia-Pacific acquired the Englehart OSB plant and the associated Earlton facility in 2010.
