The City of Barrie is planting 5,000 trees across parks and streets to replace those lost in the March 28–31, 2025 ice storm that destroyed or damaged more than 51,000 municipal trees. Mayor Alex Nuttall and Deputy Mayor Robert Thomson marked the ongoing effort this week, with roughly 1,400 new trees already in the ground and planting continuing through the fall and into spring 2027.
The storm wiped out more than 5,000 street and park trees, a hit that erased more than 10 percent of the city’s street and park tree inventory. A further 46,000 trees were damaged, leaving a gap in the canopy that city forestry staff say will take years to close. “When last year’s ice storm damaged thousands of trees across Barrie, we made a commitment to restore what was lost,” Nuttall said during an announcement at Leacock Park. “Today, that work is well underway.”
The replanting program is backed by $2.1 million approved by city council. That’s more than six times what Barrie normally spends in a year, when crews typically replace 600 to 800 trees that die or are removed. The city has hired contractors Drysdale Tree Farms and Lomco to handle the heavy workload, while community partner Living Green Barrie is also helping put trees in the ground.
The total bill for Barrie’s ice storm recovery is pegged at about $30 million. The province is covering $26.2 million of that through its Municipal Ice Storm Assistance program. The storm was the costliest insured weather event in Canada in 2025, with $466 million in damage across Ontario and Quebec, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada.
Officials say species are being chosen for traits that matter in an urban setting—resistance to drought, road salt, pests, and the heavy ice loads that turned branches into wreckage 15 months ago. Residents can track the city’s progress online and will see crews at work in neighbourhoods all summer.
