Region Archives: Canada

Opinion / EdiTOADial

This is the moment for forestry to step up as Canada’s leading environmental voice

By Tony Kryzanowski
Forestnet Magazine
June 30, 2026
Category: Opinion / EdiTOADial
Region: Canada

Tony Kryzanowski

Canadians faced with escalating fuel costs, crushing grocery bills and higher rent are understandably less concerned about the environment these days, according to the latest public opinion polls. And predictably, politicians eager for re-election are following the polls in terms of their own priorities. But the numbers don’t lie. The world is becoming warmer and climate change is real. The consequences go far beyond the recent ferocity of repeated massive forest fires right across Canada. Given what appears to be a more muted voice in environmental advocacy these days, this is the forestry sector’s moment to present itself as Canada’s strongest champion for the environment because we undeniably have a great story to tell. …A good starting point for industry to develop its environmental advocacy strategy is to take stock.

We should revisit past important research and development initiatives as it relates to wood fibre as the feedstock. This includes further commercialization of bio-based nanotechnology from cellulose, expanding the market for mass timber products, exploring afforestation potentially with fast-growing wood species to grow the wood basket while also expanding the forest footprint to achieve greater carbon sequestration, substituting wood pellets for diesel to provide power to northern communities, and rehabilitating landscapes marred by industrial activity. …It’s astounding to think of how many billions of dollars of investment are being considered for such unproven practices as carbon dioxide sequestration from Canada’s oil and gas industry, when trees represent the largest, single natural carbon sequestration tool on the planet—and Canada has the second largest landmass in the world. …The field is now so much more wide open and desperately looking for a champion to remind us that climate change is here to stay—unless we take action and that forestry can and should be a much bigger part of the solution.

Read More

Business & Politics

Trump slaps 50% tariffs on Canada and Carney vows to ‘intensify’ trade talks

By Nadine Yousif, Francisco Velasquez and Peter Hoskins
BBC News
July 21, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

US President Trump has imposed a 50% tariff on a wide range of goods imported from Canada, in retaliation for what he called “unequal treatment” of US cars, dairy and alcohol. …However, several key exports will be spared, such as energy, potash, critical minerals and fish. Prime Minister Carney responded by saying Canada stood ready to “intensify” trade talks with the US in the coming weeks. The White House said the duties would take effect in 30 days. …A White House fact sheet discussing the new tariffs said they applied regardless of whether the product was included under the existing free trade agreement between Canada, the US and Mexico. The new tariffs add to trade barriers already in place. The US has been maintaining active tariffs ranging from 15% to 50% on Canadian steel, aluminium and copper. It also charges a 35% tariff on softwood lumber, alongside a 25% tax on non-US parts in cars. Meanwhile Canada has its own 25% counter-tariff on selected imports of American steel, aluminium and vehicles.

[Editor’s note: Per Annex I, of the Proclamation, the new tariffs will apply to a range of plywood and veneer products, furniture and paper and paperboard products. Products already subject to Section 232 tariffs, including lumber, are excluded]

Read More

Why Trump is threatening new 50% tariffs on Canadian exports right now

By Mike Crawley
CBC News
July 21, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

It may appear that Trump’s move to hit many Canadian products with new tariffs of 50% came out of the blue, but there are clear signs of what’s driving the tactic. The announcement comes as the US pushes for significant changes to the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement. …The Trump administration wants to wipe out as much of Canada’s leverage in those  talks as possible. Some of that leverage comes from eight Canadian provinces banning the import and distribution of US alcohol products. …But retaliation for that boycott is just one of three ostensible reasons US trade representative Jamieson Greer gave. …”Canada has given better market access to dairy products from the EU, and has put a cap on US vehicle exports from companies reshoring to the US,” Greer said. …The US has listed nearly 500 product categories impacted, some of which clearly relate directly to trade irritants. But dozens seem chosen at random.

Read More

Hoekstra says Trump serious about tariff threat over wildfire smoke

By Alessia Simona Maratta and Mackenzie Gray
Global News
July 17, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

US Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra says President Trump‘s threat to impose new tariffs over smoke from Canadian wildfires should be taken seriously. Smoke from Canadian wildfires has blanketed several major American cities. “We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush therein,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. He said the wildfire smoke amounts to “Willful Negligence” and is “costing the US Billions of Dollars.” He added that the cost of the pollution “is incalculable” and should be “added to the tariffs Canada currently pays.” …Hoekstra would not say how large any potential tariffs could be or what legal mechanism the administration might use to impose them. But he said Canada could face consequences if the issue is not addressed. …The criticism comes despite the administration’s own moves to scale back US climate action.

Related coverage by:

Read More

Ontario premier rips Trump wildfires criticism: ‘Absolutely unacceptable’

By Sophie Brams
The Hill
July 18, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Saturday blasted the criticism leveled at the Canadian government by the Trump administration and congressional Republicans over its handling of raging wildfires as “totally unacceptable.” “We’re trying to get through this,” Ford said, calling the rhetoric coming from some in the US “shameful.” President Trump threatened on Friday to impose additional tariffs on Canada over what he described as the government’s “willful negligence” and refusal to engage in “basic Forest Management”. The president said he planned to call Prime Minister Mark Carney to “find out what they are going to do” about the hundreds of wildfires raging across Canada. There were 955 active fires as of Saturday. Ford described current conditions as a “terrible scenario”. …Ford suggested those lawmakers have a “short, short memory,” noting how Canadian hydro-linemen and water bombers assisted in battling wildfires in California, Georgia and South Carolina last year.

Read More

FPInnovations appoints Mathieu Blouin President and CEO

FPInnovations
July 16, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

Mathieu Blouin

FPInnovations announces the appointment of Mathieu Blouin as President and CEO effective as of July 13, 2026, as part of a planned transition. He brings over 20 years of experience in applied forest research, fostering industry partnerships, and organizational leadership; most recently serving as Vice President. “Industrial research and innovation have never been more important. I am pleased to continue this work with our employees and partners to strengthen our sector competitiveness and support its transformation,” said Mathieu Blouin. FPInnovations’ team extends gratitude to Stephane Renou, who set the organization firmly on a path defined by impact, value, and rigour. Under his leadership, FPInnovations has moved to a more adaptive and agile model built to respond to the evolving needs of the industry, maximize the value of harvested wood, and serve as a trusted, honest broker of science and data for Canada’s forest sector.

Read More

Premier appoints new chief of staff, former MLA and minister of state, Andrew Mercier

By the Office of the Premier
Government of British Columbia
July 20, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West

Andrew Mercier

Premier David Eby’s chief of staff Cheryl Oates is concluding her interim appointment as Jim Rutkowski extends his medical leave. Andrew Mercier will take on the role of chief of staff to the Premier. Oates was appointed interim chief of staff in January 2026, with the expectation that Jim Rutkowski would return to the job in August. As Rutkowski continues his treatment, Andrew Mercier has been appointed to fill the role of chief of staff. Mercier is a lawyer who has deep roots in the labour movement. Mercier served as MLA for Langley from 2020 to 2024, and as parliamentary secretary for skills training, minister of state for workforce development, and minister of state for sustainable forestry innovation. He previously served as the executive director of BC Building Trades.

Read More

NDP was asked four years ago to rescue B.C.’s pulp mills. It didn’t

By Vaughn Palmer
The Vancouver Sun
July 17, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Vaughn Palmer

Forests Minister Ravi Parmar started the week on a positive note, announcing that the province would be making more wood available to custom cutters. The next day… Canfor announced the Northwood pulp mill will be closing permanently. …The BC Pulp and Paper Coalition said that the BC government could have done more to head off the Northwood closure. Coalition’s Joe Nemeth said …“had these two steps been taken, the closure of Northwood may well have been avoidable”. …Four years ago this month, the coalition gave the NDP government a plan for the pulp and paper sector. …The July 2022 presentation also came with a cautionary forecast about the fate of the sector without relief. There were then 16 mills operating in BC. As many as five could close over the next 10 years, the coalition warned. With the pending closure of Northwood, the coalition’s mill count will be down to 11 by the end of this year.

Read More

Forestry workers push retirement bridging

By Nick Dube
CKPG Today
July 17, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

PRINCE GEORGE, BC – The closure of Canfor’s Northwood pulp mill is putting renewed pressure on governments to support forestry workers in Prince George, with both union and political voices pointing to retirement bridging as one of the most urgent needs for workers facing job loss. The Northwood closure has left workers trying to understand what comes next, including when their jobs will end and whether there will be comparable work available in the region. Chuck LeBlanc, National President of PPWC, says many workers are still processing the announcement. …But finding similar work in Prince George could be difficult as there are fewer options left following years of mill closures and downsizing. …LeBlanc says one support that has been pushed before is bridging to retirement, a program that could help older workers leave the workforce with financial assistance while opening up jobs for others lower on the seniority list.

Read More

Carrier Forest Products to indefinitely curtail operations at Big River sawmill

Prince Albert NOW
July 16, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

SASKATCHEWAN — Carrier Forest Products has announced it will indefinitely curtail production at its Big River sawmill beginning Oct. 16, 2026, a decision expected to impact approximately 117 employees. The company management said the decision was difficult but necessary given a combination of ongoing challenges facing the forestry sector and the Big River operation specifically. …Despite the indefinite shutdown, the company emphasized it has not determined that the Big River facility will be permanently closed. …Carrier Forest Products cited persistent weak market conditions as a major factor behind the decision. The company also pointed to the recent decline of the Canadian dollar. …In addition, management said the long-term effects of last year’s wildfires have reduced the timber volumes available. …Jeff Bromley, chair of the United Steelworkers Wood Council said that the collective agreement offers the workers some help. “It is certainly devastating, but hopefully it is a temporary curtailment,” Bromley said.

Read More

The BC Truck Loggers Association is hiring a Director of Communications

BC Truck Loggers Association
July 14, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West

The Truck Loggers Association is hiring a Director of Communications. This is a key leadership position within the TLA organization. The incumbent is an experienced communications professional who works closely with the TLA Executive and Executive Director to develop and guide the organization’s internal and external communications strategy and activities. The position is responsible for TLA’s communication activities including publication of TLA’s quarterly Truck LoggerBC magazine, member/stakeholder communications, website and social media. The Director works with media to field enquiries, write media releases, pitch stories, coordinate interviews and facilitate op-eds. The TLA is an influential, member-supported industry association that represents the interests of British Columbia’s independent timber harvesting contractors, industry suppliers and forest resource dependent communities. On behalf of their members, the TLA is a strong and unifying voice for BC’s working forest community, and advocates for the success and long- term viability of TLA member companies, their employees and forestry dependant communities.

Read More

U.S. Lumber Coalition Responds to Premier Ford Call to Open America’s “Gates” To Canada’s Lumber

The US Lumber Coalition
July 20, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada East, United States

Ontario Premier Ford last week attacked a broad range of U.S. Members of Congress and President Trump and demanded that President Trump eliminate tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber [Ontario premier says Trump’s criticism of Canada’s efforts to stop wildfires is ‘absolutely unacceptable’]. Premier Ford then reminisced about the days when unfairly traded Canadian lumber imports elbowed their way in to maintain 30% to 33% of the US market, while displacing American-made lumber. “Through strong trade law enforcement and Section 232 tariffs, President Trump has achieved historically low market shares for unfairly traded Canadian lumber in the US market—down to 19%. …”Instead of demanding that America open its gates to Canada’s massive and heavily subsidized excess lumber capacity to improve the health of the Canadian forestry industry, Canada should be dismantling that excess capacity in a responsible manner. The US cannot afford to be the dumping ground for Canada’s unfairly traded lumber.

Read More

‘An emergency measure’: Wood products industry calls on Ottawa to impose tariff on foreign goods

By Abigil Bimman
CTV News
July 17, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada East

COATICOOK, Que. – Alain Ouzilleau’s custom cabinet plant in Coaticook, Que., is only running at half capacity. Ouzilleau spent $25 million to expand Cabico&Co’s operations over the last five years, with a new 50,000-sq. ft building and state-of-the-art robots. But instead of growth, the double hit of 25 per cent U.S. tariffs and a flood of foreign imports now has him breaking even. He laid off about 200 of his 700-person workforce, which includes the company’s second plant in St. Catharines, Ont. U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to double those tariffs to 50 per cent in January, but delayed that move by a year. However, even at the 25 per cent level, Ouzilleau says Cabico&Co “cannot be profitable.” “We’re breaking even, but we want to continue to invest,” he told CTV News at the plant. “One of the options to protect our Canadian jobs, will be having operations south of the border, which I hate to do.”

Read More

Wood, Paper & Green Building

Mass timber gains ground in B.C. as municipalities weigh cost and carbon for public projects

By Don Procter
Journal of Commerce
July 20, 2026
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada West

©naturally:wood

More B.C. municipalities are providing incentives, planning tools and creating policies that support the adoption of mass timber construction. And the appeal isn’t just about its good looks. The District of Saanich’s decision to select a mass timber hybrid design for the Saanich Fire Station No 2 that is now under construction was also about its life-cycle performance and low-embodied carbon, according to Stacy McGhee, manager of strategic facilities planning with the District of Saanich. In a Canadian Wood Council webinar, McGhee said during the pre-design stage, the district looked at three options for the firehall: maintain the existing building, select the most economical design, or select a performance-based building that included mass timber. Based on a calculated life-cycle cost over 80 years, the performance-based design was the least expensive by about $5 million, making it the district’s choice, a first Step 3 commercial compliant building under the B.C. Energy Step Code in Saanich.

Read More

Wood Connections – News from BC Wood Specialties Group

BC Wood Specialties Group
July 17, 2026
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada West

In this edition of Wood Connections, you’ll find these stories and more:

  • BC Wood announces the 2026 Annual General Meeting to take place concurrent with the Global Buyers Mission in Whistler, BC this September. And, speaking of the GBM, time is running out to register, 80% of booth space is sold. 
  • New Women’s Networking Event announced at the GBM in partnership with Women of Lumber & Forestry.
  • Jim Ivanoff provides updates on BC Wood Japan activities.
  • Tecno Mueble Internacional is taking place August 19–22, 2026, in Guadalajara, Mexico. BC Wood invites you to join their pavilion. 
  • The BC Wood Korean Office partnered with the Canadian Embassy in Seoul this year to deliver a high-profile GBM launch event. 

Read More

Forestry

‘Not one single offer:’ Doug Ford criticizes Donald Trump for not offering help amid wildfires

By Phil Tsekouras
CTV News
July 20, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, United States

Doug Ford

Premier Ford says US President Trump’s threat to introduce new tariffs on Canada over northern Ontario wildfire smoke that’s drifted south of the border is a “bunch of rubbish.” “Rather than sit there and complain, why don’t we see some help. Send up some water bombers, send up some wildland firefighters, but then again, they have thousands of fires going in the US right now, but you don’t hear Canada ever complain,” Ford said Monday. Trump and other U.S. lawmakers criticized the Canadian government over the nearly 200 wildfires that continue to burn in the northwestern part of the province, which have reduced the air quality on both sides of the border. …Prime Minister Carney has pushed back against the criticism. …The premier went on to remind American lawmakers critical of the effort to contain the wildfires of Ontario’s willingness to assist California during its wildfire season last year.

Read More

Industrial development is fragmenting Canada’s boreal forest. Governments should think carefully about future approvals

By Maria Strack, University of Waterloo
The Conversation
July 20, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

There’s been a lot of talk about major infrastructure projects in Canada lately, with the federal government planning to fast-track resource development across the country. …Yet these economic benefits result in trade-offs for the environment… Examples of unintended environmental consequences aren’t hard to find across Canada. If someone told you about a high-density network of corridors, often spaced less than 100 metres apart, you might picture city roads or an urban park trail system. In fact, such a network of linear clearings, also called seismic lines, can be found across Canada’s boreal forest. There are an estimated over 1.8 million kilometres of such clearings in Alberta alone. …Seismic lines fragment forests and alter their ability to act as habitats and provide climate change mitigation benefits. Forest fragmentation shifts how animals use the region, and has been linked to sharp declines in woodland caribou.

Read More

Improving B.C.’s natural resource appeals process for permitting decisions

By Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship
Government of British Columbia
July 20, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

People in British Columbia are invited to provide feedback on proposed improvements to the Province’s natural resource appeals process. The Province has launched public engagement on potential legislative and procedural changes affecting appeals heard by the Environmental Appeal Board and the Forest Appeals Commission, two major natural resource tribunals in B.C. If approved, changes are expected to help deliver timelier decisions, strengthen compliance and enforcement, and support more efficient permitting, while maintaining environmental protections and the Province’s obligations to First Nations. These independent tribunals hear appeals related to environmental protection, natural resource management and land-use decisions.

Read More

What Stanley Park’s dying trees reveal about B.C.’s climate future

By Jennifer Van Evra
BCBusiness
July 21, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

It was December 2024, and a four-year looper moth infestation had ravaged Stanley Park. The City of Vancouver estimated that 160,000 of the park’s 600,000 trees were dead or dying… The hemlocks had faced years of drought …which made them more susceptible to the ravenous looper larvae that stripped the trees of their needles. …Bruce Blackwell has spent 38 years watching this slow-moving disaster unfold. …Blackwell says the stress on the trees and the increased forest fire risk is being exacerbated by our longer, drier summers. “Historically we would’ve had significant rains in April, May and June. And in some of these driest years, the precipitation is stopping in May,” he says. “And we’re not getting significant precipitation for months on end.” As a result, municipalities are rethinking the trees they plant… “These things take resources—and when it comes to green spaces, we’re good at planting them… but we’re not managing them to the standard we need to manage them,” says Blackwell.

Read More

Manitoba logging industry threatened amid raging wildfires

By Toni De Guzman
Global News
July 20, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Arnold Reimer is among the Manitoba loggers concerned their supply is turning to ash as wildfires continue to burn through forests across the country. Last year’s wildfire season burned around 8.9 million hectares nationwide. In Manitoba, 445 wildfires and 2.38 million hectares burned, according to the government of Manitoba’s 2025 wildfire report. Canada’s forest sector supports nearly 200,000 workers and contributes more than $20 billion to the GDP, according to the government of Canada. …John Morris, executive director at the Forestry Industry Association of Manitoba, said the loss of timber means job losses, fewer economic opportunities, and impacts on rural and northern communities that depend on the industry.

Additional coverage in CTV News, by Alex Karpa: ‘Huge concern’: Manitoba loggers worried as industry continues to feel impacts of wildfires

Read More

Blueberry River First Nations aims to restore land through native plant orchard

By Edzi’u Loverin
CBC News
July 17, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Blueberry River First Nations in B.C. says its new native plant orchard will help restoration efforts on land ravaged by industry and wildfires, while creating economic and cultural opportunities for the nation. Grandmother’s Greenhouse’s Native Plant Orchard is located around 50 kilometres from Fort St. John on about 50 hectares of agricultural land owned by the First Nation, and produces commercial seeds, seedlings, and seed capsules. Blueberry River Chief Sherry Dominic, said the orchard’s plant products will be sold to industry, “so when they’re doing reclamation of the lands that they are restoring, they’ll use these native plants, seeds that we’ve grown, that our members had picked in this Blueberry traditional area.” …The orchard is a $9.7 million initiative funded through Blueberry River Restoration Society, a Blueberry River First Nations organization. The venture will see 1.7 million seedlings in the orchard this season, which has been designed to reflect a healthy diverse and resilient forest ecosystem.

Read More

Careful commercial thinning do-able in B.C.

By Paul MacDonald
Forestnet Magazine
June 30, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

British Columbia may be known for clearcuts when it comes to harvesting operations, but Integrated Operations Group (IOG) is now proving that commercial thinning is do-able—and can be financially feasible with careful planning and selecting the right stand—in BC. And the commercial thinning is delivering benefits, such as reduced wildfire risk and improved forest health, yield and wildlife habitat. IOG, based in Campbell River, has operations both on the Coast and Interior of BC, and was initially formed to fill a need for specialized full-phase heli-logging services in the forest industry. Since then, it has utilized the company’s combined production forestry skillsets to expand into a variety of services and sectors. …Quentin Stefani, a Managing Partner at IOG, recently hosted Forestnet Magazine at a commercial thinning operation in BC’s Southern Interior, near Summerland, for Gorman Bros, based in Kelowna.

Read More

Forest Seeding by Drone: FPInnovations Paves the Way for a New Approach to Reforestation

By Anne LeBrun Ruff, Senior Researcher
FPInnovations
July 15, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada East

In the wake of wildfires, bringing affected areas back into production poses a major challenge, particularly in remote or hard-to-reach areas. In Canada, wildfires affect an average of 2.8 million hectares of forest each year, underscoring the importance of exploring innovative solutions to support restoration efforts. With financial support from the Quebec Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests (MRNF), FPInnovations is evaluating the potential of aerial seeding using drones as a complement to traditional reforestation methods. In the spring of 2026, field trials were conducted to test various drone systems and validate several aspects of this approach: their operational capability, the accuracy of remote sensing technologies in targeting the most suitable sites, and the germination performance of different seed capsules and seeds. The goal is to assess not only the technical feasibility of this technology but also its economic viability and the contexts in which it could offer the greatest benefits. 

Read More

Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Air Canada and Airbus launch joint initiative to scale domestic Canadian Sustainable Aviation Fuel

Air Canada
July 20, 2026
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada

MONTRÉAL — Air Canada, the country’s largest airline and flag carrier, and Airbus, a global leader in aerospace manufacturing with the largest commercial aircraft industrial footprint in Canada, are uniting their shared commitment to aviation decarbonisation. To lead the way in advancing these goals, the two aviation pioneers are proud to announce their intent to establish a jointly funded Sustainability Co-Investment Platform. This agreement states a shared objective to invest up to approximately C$13.7 million, through the platform to support a commercial-scale Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) industry in Canada. Both companies are confident that, with a supportive public policy framework in place, this investment can serve as a catalyst for the broader Canadian SAF ecosystem. Key focus areas include accelerating a jointly agreed Canadian SAF project toward a Final Investment Decision. 

Read More

Reliable, Efficient Bioheat Can Reduce Electrical Grid Pressure

By Jonathan Levesque
The Wood Pellet Association of Canada
July 17, 2026
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada

Jonathan Levesque

Using low-carbon, locally sourced wood pellets and biomass to heat homes and commercial and industrial buildings offers a practical way to reduce strain on Canada’s energy grid, while lowering heating costs for consumers. …In May, I represented the Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC) at the Energizing Efficiency Conference in Fredericton, New Brunswick. While much of the conference focused on electrification and energy efficiency, WPAC highlighted the important role that biomass heating can play in reducing emissions while relieving pressure on electrical systems. I also delivered Canadian Biomass’ webinar Bioheat: Delivering Decarbonization, Affordability and Energy Resistance. …Unlike heat pumps, which require increased electrical input in cold weather, modern biomass systems maintain high efficiency and full heating capacity even in the coldest winter conditions. …Greater adoption of bioheat would reduce reliance on less-efficient, higher-emission electricity generation for heating, helping stabilize power rates both now and in the future.

Read More

El Niño is here, and it’s already looking like it could be ‘mind-blowing’

By Nicole Mortillaro
CBC News
July 17, 2026
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, United States, International

The long-anticipated El Niño is here. …In its monthly update in June, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), issued an El Niño advisory, confirming that the warmer conditions had developed in the specific part of the Pacific Ocean known as Niño 3.4. In order to be considered an El Niño, temperatures need to be 0.5 C above the average. Ocean temperatures are now close to 2 C above average. …The strongest El Niño in recent years was the one in 2015-2016, where the ocean temperature anomaly was roughly 2.75 C. ….Nat Johnson, a meteorologist at NOAA’s geophysical fluid dynamics laboratory, said the transition from a La Niña to El Niño has been very quick. …Meanwhile, in Canada, the effects will be seen in the winter months, bringing milder temperatures, but also drier conditions, something that is of great concern for wildfire development in the spring in Western Canada.

Read More

How B.C.’s forest policy is making Canada’s climate problem worse

By Stewart Muir
Resource Works Society
July 17, 2026
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

BC’s wildfire emissions in 2023 exceeded those of seven of the world’s ten largest national emitters. …At the same time, provincial policy has systematically reduced the managed forest harvest and shuttered 21 mills since 2023. …The policy of locking forests away from active management—while presented as environmental protection—is contributing to the very climate outcome it claims to prevent. Decadent, unmanaged stands are the fuel that feeds catastrophic wildfire. A well-managed, productive forest economy would reduce Canada’s climate impact more than any policy of exclusion. …The argument for locking forests away from harvest assumes that standing forests are always a carbon sink—absorbing more CO₂ than they release. This is true for young, actively growing forests. It is not true for old, decadent stands. …The solution is not less forestry. It is more forestry—done well, done sustainably, and done with the explicit goal of reducing Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions: uncontrolled wildfire in unmanaged forests.

Read More

Health & Safety

How does wildfire smoke affect your brain today and in the future?

By Hannah Alberga
The Canadian Press in the National Observer
July 17, 2026
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada

The perils of wildfire smoke don’t stop at the lungs or the heart. They can also affect the brain. Recent research shows tiny particles from wildfire smoke — known as PM2.5, fine particulate matter — are so small they can travel deep into the lungs. But they don’t always end their journey there. Some slip into the bloodstream, or get to the brain directly through the nose, says Dr. Bhavini Gohel of the University of Calgary’s O’Brien Institute for Public Health. When toxins reach the brain, they can cause inflammation, resulting in fogginess, lack of focus and headache, she says. Increasing exposure to these harmful particles can also cause long-term damage to brain cells leading to cognitive decline. …The Climate Health System Alliance, says an increasing exposure to this air can lead to dementia. …A study found people living in areas with higher air pollution scored worse on memory tests.

Read More

Fatal crash highlights key role — and risks — of helicopters in remote B.C. areas

By Julie Chadwick
Victoria Times Colonist
July 19, 2026
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada West

This week’s fatal helicopter crash highlights the crucial role of helicopter pilots in remote areas of the B.C. coast, and the risks they face, say residents and industry representatives. The crash early Tuesday in the Loughborough Inlet area, between Knight Inlet and Bute Inlet, killed West Coast Helicopters pilot Riley Browne and one of the forestry engineers onboard. …Helicopter pilots play an essential role in making life ­possible in the remote community of Wuikinuxv First Nation, said J­ennifer Walkus, a former tribal councillor and environmental researcher. …There are also some grey areas when it comes to who medevacs workers out if they get injured on the job in remote areas, such as logging camps or fishing villages, said Sean Smyth, general manager of West Coast Helicopters. …That’s one of the reasons Miles Randell started the Technical Evacuation Advanced Aero Medical Society, also known as TEAAM.

Read More

Health and Safety News from WorkSafeBC

WorkSafeBC
July 16, 2026
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada West

In this latest newsletter from WorkSafeBC, you’ll find these stories and more:

  • The WorkSafeBC interactive Heat Stress Screening Tool helps you and your team plan ahead for hot work conditions.
  • Updated resources are available on our website including a new first aid procedures with a fillable template for small, class 1 workplaces, an updated web book for Small Business and WorkSafeBC and Safe Work Practices for Custodians. 
  • Learn about new requirements for combustible dusts in the workplace. Changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation related to combustible dust will take effect on January 4, 2027.  They apply to any workplace where dust may accumulate and create a fire or explosion risk.
  • Finally – highlights from the 2026 Summer WorkSafeBC Magazine, including how to manage risk with a key risk inventory and understanding personal coverage for home sharing providers. 

Read More

Forest Fires

Canada wildfires: A look at where they are burning from coast to coast

The Associated Press in CTV News
July 18, 2026
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada

More than 950 wildfires are scorching Canada from coast to coast, the national wildland fire summary says. Roughly 241 blazes are out of control. The fires have prompted Environment Canada to issue air quality warnings from B.C. to Quebec, as well as the Northwest Territories. Here’s a look at what is happening:

  • British Columbia: Nearly 115 wildfires are burning in British Columbia. BC Wildfire Service says a majority were sparked by lightning… 
  • Manitoba: Multiple out-of-control wildfires are burning in Manitoba’s north…
  • Northwest Territories: Fires forced about 1,300 residents of Fort Simpson and 130 from Wrigley to leave their communities in late June… 
  • Ontario: Nearly 200 wildfires are blazing across the province, already scorching more land than all of last year’s fires…
  • Nova Scotia: Crews in Nova Scotia are fighting an out-of-control wildfire northeast of Halifax…

Read More

Explainer: Why is Canada’s wildfire smoke blanketing parts of North America?

By Nivedita Balu
Reuters
July 17, 2026
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada

TORONTO — …rising global temperatures contribute to massive forest fires … in northern Canada. Canada currently has more active wildfires than it did at the same stage in ​either of the past two years, while the area burned so far this year exceeds the 10-year average. …Mike Flannigan, a professor at Thompson Rivers University in BC, noted that warmer temperatures have prolonged the wildfire season and more lightning is also causing fires, he said. Climate scientist Andrew Dessler, a professor at Texas A&M College of Arts and Sciences, said the Canadian fires were burning in largely unmanaged forests where, for the last one hundred years, they had been allowed to burn until they ​died out. Like Flannigan, he said higher temperatures were fueling bigger, more intense blazes in Canada. “The reason this is having a big effect on the U.S. right now is because of climate change, that’s the thing that ​has changed,” he said.

Read More

Dangerous and historic wildfire smoke pollution event engulfs the U.S. and Canada

By Jeff Masters
Yale Climate Connections
July 17, 2026
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, United States

As climate change bakes forests across North America, dense smoke from dozens of out-of-control wildfires burning in northern Minnesota and adjacent portions of Ontario is blanketing tens of millions of people with hazardous pollution. …As the climate warms, fire danger increases, mostly because the atmosphere gets “thirstier” – more water vapor can evaporate into warmer air. This results in more water vapor evaporating from plants, which dries them out and creates an increased risk of large and intense fires that can generate huge smoke plumes. Most of the fires grew out of control under extreme heat conditions made up to five times more likely by climate change (Fig. 1). According to Climate Central, the heat that helped fuel these fires would have been “highly unlikely” to have occurred in a world without climate change.

Read More

After 34K lightning strikes, almost 100 wildfires burning across B.C.

CBC News
July 20, 2026
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

©BCWildfireService

Recent days have seen B.C.’s wilderness struck by lightning almost 34,000 times, fire crews report, and the hot, dry conditions are expected to linger. The B.C. Wildfire Service notes almost 100 fires burning, as of Monday afternoon. At the same time, several parts of the province are under a heat warning until Thursday: the Okanagan Valley, the Fraser Canyon, South Thompson, Shuswap, West Kootenay, Kitimat Terrace and the Sunshine Coast. …Sunday saw people living in the East Kootenay city of Kimberley placed under an evacuation alert and the situation remains uncertain in eastern British Columbia. …In the Thompson Nicola Regional District, the Fiftynine Creek and French Bar Creek fires are over 130 and 100 square kilometres in size, respectively, according to the wildfire service. …Prof. Lori Daniels, Koerner Chair in Wildfire Coexistence at the University of British Columbia, noted Canada’s 2026 fire season is within the 30-year average but there are still two months to go.

Read More

Fire crews work on containment lines between out-of-control blaze and Kimberley, B.C.

Canadian Press in Global News
July 21, 2026
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

Firefighters in British Columbia are working to build containment lines between an out of-control wildfire and the city of Kimberley in the province’s southeast corner, where the entire community of more than 8,000 residents has been told to prepare for evacuation. The BC Wildfire Service says it will be using heavy equipment to build the lines and block the fire that’s about 10 kilometres west of Kimberley. The service says the blaze is in steep terrain making direct firefighting difficult and has grown to about six square kilometres since being detected on Saturday. It’s among about 35 fires burning out of control in B.C., where a total of about 100 blazes were active as of late Monday.

Additional coverage in Castanet, by Kathy Michaels: Wind a critical factor as fire triggers evacuation alert for 8,000 in Kimberley, B.C.

Read More

Kimberley, B.C., city of about 9,000, placed under evacuation alert as nearby out-of-control wildfire grows

CBC News
July 19, 2026
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

©BCWildfireService

The entire City of Kimberley has been placed under an evacuation alert as an out-of-control wildfire burns west of the East Kootenay community. The alert covers all properties within Kimberley’s municipal boundaries, affecting roughly 9,000 people. Residents are not being ordered to leave but are being told to prepare in case conditions worsen. The Matthew Creek wildfire was discovered Saturday and is estimated to be 5.67 square kilometres (567 hectares) as of Sunday evening. The B.C. Wildfire Service says the fire began at high elevation in steep, mountainous terrain that is unsafe for crews to access directly. It says strong winds, steep slopes and spruce-balsam forest helped drive rapid growth. The blaze was burning as a highly vigorous and fast-moving fire Saturday but crews say fire behaviour had eased by Sunday. …Heavy equipment has been mobilized with three helicopters responding to the wildfire. 

Read More

Smoke from U.S. wildfires affecting air quality in B.C.

By Lisa Steacy
CTV News
July 19, 2026
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

Wildfires south of the border are responsible for “much” of the smoke that has prompted an air quality warning in one region of B.C., according to officials. The provincial wildfire service said an increase in local, lightning-caused fire starts was only partially responsible for poor air quality in parts of the southeast fire centre—including where parts of the Kootenays border the United States. “As wildfire activity increases, so has smoke across many areas of the region. Much of this smoke is originating from fires south of the Canada-U.S. border and will have varying impacts over the coming days,” an update Saturday evening said. …The issue of smoke travelling across the border caused a political firestorm in recent days, in part prompted by a social media post from U.S. President Donald Trump. …Just days before Trump’s post, 56-year-old Canadian pilot Nicholas Dale was killed while fighting a forest fire in Colorado.

Read More

How bad is the 2026 wildfire season? In Ontario, early estimates suggest it’s the worst yet — and not over

By Jordan Omstead
The Canadian Press in CTV News
July 21, 2026
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada East

Wildfires raging in northern Ontario have pushed the province to its worst wildfire season on record. …fires have burned through more than 7,250 square kilometres of Ontario’s forest, surpassing the previous record set in 2021. The preliminary estimate is likely to be revised, but it stands as a sign of how quickly the season has worsened. The vast majority of that fire has burned in the past 10 days, on the back of severe thunderstorms and a scorching heat wave around Thunder Bay where temperatures soared to around 15 degrees above seasonal. Climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, is making wildfire seasons longer and more intense across Canada. …Into August, the forecast suggests much of northern Ontario could remain hotter and drier than normal. While conditions may not be as intense as what the region just experienced, “a complete reprieve is not really in the forecast,” said Liam Buchart, with the Canadian Forest Service.

Read More

Northern Ontario wildfires disrupt rail, forestry operations

By Eric Atkins and Andrew Willis
The Globe and Mail
July 16, 2026
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada East

Wildfires in Northern Ontario have prompted evacuations, blocked rail traffic and halted forestry operations, as smoke blanketed much of the province and parts of the United States this week. There are 177 active wildland blazes in Ontario, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources, prompting evacuation orders in several communities, such as Armstrong, Lac La Croix First Nation and Whitesand First Nation. While firefighters battle the blazes, conditions are being monitored and some services and businesses have been suspended. Canadian National Railway’s freight network continues to be disrupted. The mainline north of Lake Superior has been closed since Monday and transcontinental freight trains are being rerouted. …Via Rail, which operates mainly on CN tracks, has cancelled service between Toronto and Winnipeg until July 19. …Domtar, one of the country’s largest lumber companies, suspended all harvesting and road building in northwestern Ontario because of the wildfires. [A Globe and Mail subscription is required for full access to this story]

Read More

2nd First Nations community in Ontario ravaged by wildfire in less than a week

By Sarah Law
CBC News
July 20, 2026
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada East

Less than a week after Namaygoosisagagun First Nation, north of Thunder Bay, Ont., burned down, another First Nations community in the region has also been ravaged by wildfire. Whitewater Lake First Nation is about 70 kilometres north of Armstrong and 250 kilometres north of Thunder Bay. The Anishinaabe community is considered a non-status First Nation, but it belongs to the Windigo First Nations Council. The community largely consists of seasonal camps and is only accessible six months a year by floatplane. There are no full-time residents living there. Chief Pauline Drake said much of the community’s homes, personal belongings and vital infrastructure have been lost, as nearly 200 wildfires continue to rage across the province. …”These wildfires have not only impacted our First Nation communities but also the tourist outfitters, all the camp owners, the private ones, all our friends and allies all across Ontario and Canada,” she said.

Related coverage:

Read More