A new provincial program in Canada known simply as Ontario Wood aims to boost the province’s forest industry and help strengthen its economy.
Ontario Wood is an educational and consumer promotion initiative of the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry. The program encourages Ontarians to buy local when choosing wood products by actively promoting wood products that were made using specific species of trees grown in Ontario.
In October 2011, Ontario began licensing wood producers to use the Ontario Wood logo on their products. Wood used in a product associated with the logo must come from tree species that are indigenous or commercially grown in Ontario.
The overall goal of the program is to create even more forestry-related jobs in Ontario, strengthening its overall economy. Currently, the province’s wood industry helps support approximately 200,000 jobs in more than 260 communities across the province.
"We welcome the OFIA's support for the Ontario Wood program. By working together with industry, we are making it easier for consumers to choose made-in-Ontario wood, supporting our forest industry and our economy," says Michael Gravelle, Minister of Natural Resources
Ontario Wood is a working in partnership with Ontario’s wood products producers, and the Ontario Forest Industries Association (OFIA) is the program’s first participant.
"We, in the OFIA, are happy to be the first licensed user of the new Ontario Wood logo. It is great to have the government supporting Ontario's forest sector and its products in this way,” says Jamie Lim, President and CEO, Ontario Forest Industries Association. “We believe that given the choice, Ontario consumers will choose to buy local products and support the 200,000 people across the province who work in our industry.”
To achieve its market objective, Ontario Wood communicates the benefits (economic, environmental and product characteristics) of Ontario wood products, encourages consumers to purchase Ontario products, co-ordinates promotional activities with producer organizations and industry stakeholders, and promotes the Ontario "brand" wherever and whenever possible. The target group for these strategies is the primary and secondary purchasers in Ontario.
As Ontario Wood develops it will have three primary program themes: brand services, retail services, and producer services. These themes will work in a complementary fashion to address a common target market, the primary and secondary purchasers of wood products. In addition to these themes market research forms the foundation of Ontario Wood’s strategic approach.
For more information, please visit http://ontariowood.ca/.
