Nearly 500,000 trees, shrubs planted by City of Edmonton in 2025

Person seen planting a tree in Terwillegar park for National Tree Day in Edmonton Sept. 24, 2025. (Marek Tkach/CTV News Edmonton)

In 2025, the city planted a record-breaking 484,091 trees and shrubs throughout Edmonton, surpassing last year’s record by more than 100,000.

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The city’s naturalization efforts expanded in 2025 with plantings at 59 locations compared to 45 in 2024. To increase equitable tree distribution, the city collaborated with three neighbourhoods through its Grow Together program to plant 50 new boulevard and open-space trees.

Some boulevard and open-space trees were replaced by “net new trees,” a concept used to expand the urban forest canopy.

Net new trees planted support the city’s goal of planting 2 million trees and achieving 20 per cent canopy cover by 2071. Since 2021 810,546 trees have been planted.

The federal government is providing Edmonton with $48 million in funding as part of its 2 Billion Trees program, along with $66 million in approved municipal capital budget funding to support tree planting.

“This record planting season is great news for Edmonton,” said federal minister Eleanor Olszewski in a statement Tuesday. “Adding more trees makes our neighbourhoods cooler, greener and more welcoming. It’s the kind of simple, practical work that genuinely improves quality of life for families across our city.”

Planting began in April 2022 and will continue until the end of 2030.