BC Mass Timber Demonstration Program (MTDP)

Insider Tip

The single most misunderstood thing about this program is what it pays for. It funds the INCREMENTAL cost — the difference between building in mass timber and building conventionally — and the mass timber products themselves are explicitly excluded, as are any building materials. So the winning application is really a cost-attribution exercise: quantify the premium across design, approval and construction, and show your work with a Class 'D' cost analysis. Two timing traps. First, eligible costs can only be incurred AFTER a funding agreement is signed by both parties, and the guide is blunt that no obligation exists until then — so early design spend on a project already in motion is unrecoverable. Second, priority goes to projects that can begin or complete in the near term, so a scheme still years from permit will lose to one ready to move. Check the height table before anything else: residential needs 5+ storeys, mixed-use commercial 3+, institutional 2+, industrial 1+, with an exception only where you can argue unique innovation. Two things applicants underuse: consortium applications are encouraged as long as the lead is an eligible applicant, and proponents with no prior mass timber experience are explicitly invited. Finally, priority may go to projects NOT already carrying significant government funding, which is unusual — stacking can count against you here.

Rejection Pitfalls 11

• Applicant is not one of the four eligible applicant types, or a consortium's lead applicant is not eligible
• Building is outside British Columbia, or its main structural system is not mass timber or mass timber-hybrid
• Building falls below the minimum height for its type without a compelling case for unique innovation

Success Profile

BC developers, owners, non-profit housing societies, local governments, First Nations organizations and institutional owners with a multi-storey mass timber or hybrid building at or near design stage, who can fund the majority of the project themselves and want help absorbing the first-time premium. The funded list spans exactly that range: private developers (Westbank, Wesgroup, Reliance Properties, BentallGreenOak, Forefront Communities), non-profit housing societies (More Than A Roof Society, Ronald McDonald House Charities BC & Yukon, Fraser Region Aboriginal Friendship Centre Association), local government (District of Saanich), and institutional owners (Kelowna International Airport). The strongest applications demonstrate something not yet common in their region of BC — a novel structural system, a first-in-province component, or an approach other builders can replicate — and commit to sharing what they learn.

Evaluation Criteria

A two-stage Expression of Interest process. Projects failing any mandatory criterion are eliminated before scoring: complete application, eligible applicant, eligible building, eligible activity, eligible costs, building in B.C., mass timber or hybrid main structural system, demonstrated need for incremental funding, commitment to fund the majority of total project cost with evidence, demonstrated access to the funding required, and total Canadian government assistance not exceeding 100% of eligible incremental costs. Surviving projects are scored by a Technical Review Panel against weighted desired criteria: Feasibility at 40% (technical feasibility, business plan and financial analysis, credible project schedule with preference for near-term completion, and team experience), Innovation and Value at 25% (degree of building innovation and novelty including new products, systems, designs and construction methodology, plus value for investment against program results), and Cost-Competitiveness at 20% (a cost-competitive design and implementation plan including a Class 'D' cost analysis, how incremental costs were quantified, and how the approach could be replicated elsewhere in the B.C. market). A short list then advances to due diligence, where additional information may be requested case-by-case. Priority is given to projects demonstrating mass timber use not already widely accepted or commercialized in the applicant's region of B.C., and may be given to projects not already receiving significant contributions from other government programs.

Application Steps

Required Documents 11

Eligible Expenses 13

• Incremental costs of the mass timber solution — construction documentation, engineering and testing costs, and other related expenditures
• Incremental mass timber design costs: architectural, structural, fire safety, building envelope
• Code analysis and the preparation and detailing of alternative solutions, including feasibility, engineering and scientific studies
• Validation of the design concept, engineering calculations and analysis, and product and system testing needed to support approval by Authorities Having Jurisdiction
• Research on mass timber or hybrid systems — acoustic, fire, seismic, connections
• Virtual design and 3D modelling to support off-site prefabrication
• GHG emission mitigation documentation and life cycle assessment or carbon accounting research
• Additional construction fees specific to mass timber, such as improved construction site fire safety and moisture protection
• Monitoring costs to assure building and occupant safety for critical building components or assemblies
• Professional, consulting and technical services; salaries and benefits
• Data acquisition and acquisition of technical equipment or materials, software and licenses
• Incremental course-of-construction insurance or related premiums placed on mass timber buildings
• Publicity, design, publishing fees, promotional and printing services

Ineligible Expenses 4

• The cost of the mass timber products used to construct the building — explicitly excluded
• Any costs associated with the production or purchase of building materials such as mass timber or softwood lumber products
• Any costs incurred before the funding agreement is signed and executed by both parties
• Costs that would have been incurred anyway had the building been built with traditional materials — only the incremental difference is eligible

Intake Periods

Periodic Expression of Interest intakes, not continuous submission. Four intakes have run since 2020; the fourth has concluded, with results announced by the Province on September 23, 2025. No fifth intake is currently posted. Past intake windows have run roughly three to four months and closed at 20:00 Pacific time on a fixed date. Each intake publishes its own Expression of Interest Guide setting that intake's dates and terms.

Deadline Notes

There is no open intake and no published date for the next one. The program runs periodic Expression of Interest intakes rather than continuous submission: four have run since 2020, and results of the fourth were announced by the Province on September 23, 2025, when four buildings each received $500,000. Neither masstimberbc.ca nor Forestry Innovation Investment's naturallywood.com currently posts a call for applications. Nothing indicates the program has ended — B.C. continues to promote it and the site was updated in 2025 — so treat this as between intakes and watch for a new Expression of Interest Guide. When an intake opens, the window has historically run about three to four months, and each intake publishes its own guide: verify the current rules against that document rather than assuming the previous intake's terms carry over. Practical planning point: eligible costs can only be incurred AFTER a funding agreement is signed by both parties, so a project already under construction when an intake opens has limited room to claim.

Ineligible Organizations

• Organizations not registered in British Columbia (for-profit applicants must be BC-registered)
• Not-for-profits not incorporated as a corporation or society under an Act of Canada or the Province of BC, or not in good standing under that Act
• Applicants whose building is outside British Columbia
• Applicants whose building's main structural system is not mass timber or mass timber-hybrid
• Applicants below the minimum building heights for their building type, absent a clear case for unique innovation
• Applicants unwilling or unable to fund the majority of the total project cost

Compatible Programs

Clawback Risk

Low Risk

Payment follows a signed funding agreement and costs already incurred and paid, so there is little to recover afterwards. The exposure sits earlier: no obligation to contribute exists until the agreement is executed by both parties, and costs incurred before that signature are not eligible at all — so a proponent who starts spending on the strength of a short-listing or a verbal indication carries that cost themselves. Specific recovery provisions would be set in the individual funding agreement, which the program does not publish.