Funding Announced For New Engineered Wood Products Plant During COFI Convention

During the 2026 COFI Convention in Vancouver, Corey Hogan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced that $4 million in funding will go towards the construction of a new wood products plant in Ontario.

Delivered through Natural Resources Canada’s Investments in Forest Industry Transformation (IFIT) program, Atlas Engineered Products (AEP) will build its new engineered wood products plant in Clinton, Ont. AEP already has several facilities in B.C. and other provinces across Canada, including the AEP Parent Office located in Nanaimo, B.C.

“The facility will incorporate state-of-the-art robotics, improve precision, efficiency and sustainability, automate complex tasks and truss production to reduce errors, minimize material waste, and ensure consistent, high-quality engineered wood requirements,” Hogan told the crowd. “The Clinton facility is expected to significantly enhance production capacity while supplying precision engineering structural components that can help accelerate construction times for housing projects across Canada.”

He added that the Government of Canada is committed to showing leadership by working closely collaborating with provinces, territories and Indigenous partners on issues that matter most to industry and to communities including improving access to fibre; advancing reconciliation in practical and meaningful ways; and creating the stable conditions companies need to invest with confidence. Transforming the forest products sector will require significant investments in innovative technologies that can help companies efficiently provide new value-added products that diversify their revenues and open up new markets for the sector, Hogan added.

He also discussed the need for predictable fibre access. He said that managing forests in a way that provides predictability of supply is what allows governments and industry need to be able to invest strategically in modernizing mills and develop high-value, low-carbon products.

Hogan acknowledged other challenges currently facing Canada’s forest products sector, including punishing U.S. tariffs and duties. He said that they create uncertainty for Canadian producers, as well as U.S. consumers and businesses. He added that the federal government is actively working to combat these tariffs and to continue to seek fair market access to the U.S. for Canadian producers.

While issues related to U.S. tariffs are creating significant challenges, Hogan noted that Canada’s forest products section does have strong partners across the U.S., including the National Association of Home Builders, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the National Retail Federation, which are arguing that these tariffs raise prices, hurt consumers, and impede housing starts at a time when affordability is becoming increasingly challenging.

Hogan ended his speech by noting that the forestry sector built Canada, and that the federal government is committed to working with the sector.

“You build this country, and the federal government is ready to be a partner with you in that work,” he told the crowd.