OTTAWA, ON—Researchers at McGill University, in partnership with Canadian Forest Owners (CFO) and with support from MITACS Canada, are launching the first national survey of Canadian private forest owners in more than two decades. The survey aims to build a stronger evidence base to help governments better understand the role private forests play in Canada’s economy, environment and communities. The findings are expected to inform policy development and improve decision-making. CFO and McGill University researchers are working together to advance a national approach to private forest data. The project will gather information on forest area, condition and production potential, as well as insight into who owns and manages these lands, their objectives and their long-term stewardship plans. …Private forests are often managed over multiple generations, offering continuity of stewardship, patient capital and a long-term perspective. …The survey is intended to help close that information gap and improve understanding of Canada’s private forest sector.
OTTAWA, ON – The Canadian Wood Council (CWC) announces that Rick Jeffery will retire from his role as President and Chief Executive Officer of the CWC effective June 30, 2026, following a distinguished career of leadership and service to Canada’s wood products industry.
A disturbing effect of the Trump era is how the most routine bureaucratic exercises become freighted with existential panic. …Despite having negotiated it himself, Donald Trump has attacked the CUSMA deal relentlessly. …The drumbeat of reporting over the coming sit-down with US officials might have you believing we are headed for gladiatorial combat, and not besuited teams working out the fine print of customs classifications and supply chain logistics. In this world, Pascal Chan, who helps lead the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, has emerged as a kind of trade whisperer. …Pascal Chan: There’s concern that if we don’t get to a renewal right now, everything falls apart. That’s not the case. We just go then into an annual review cycle every year. Sure, if we can hit a renewal now, that’s great. It extends the duration of the agreement. But the practical effect of a failed renewal is more uncertainty, not instant collapse. 
Ottawa, ON – The Canadian Wood Council (CWC) is pleased to announce that Philippe Clune was appointed to the role of Board Chair at the organization’s Annual General Meeting today. Clune succeeds Kevin Pankratz, who has completed his term as Chair after providing dedicated service to the organization and Canada’s wood products sector. “On behalf of the CWC, I would like to thank Kevin for his leadership and valuable contributions during his tenure as Chair,” said Derek Nighbor, President and CEO of the CWC. …Nighbor also welcomed Clune to the role. “As Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Domtar, Philippe brings extensive industry knowledge, strategic insight, and a commitment to advancing the use of wood in the built environment,” said Nighbor. “I look forward to working with him as we continue strengthening CWC’s role as a national voice for the wood products industry and delivering value for our members and partners.”
Forestry Innovation Investment’s 2025/26 Year in Review is now available. It is a compilation of market development activities completed by FII and our many industry, association, government, academic and research partners over the past year. We are committed to a collaborative delivery approach, building on the strengths and shared resources that other organizations bring to this important work. The forest sector continues to face challenging market conditions and ongoing trade uncertainty. As we adapt to these pressures, diversification remains central to strengthening the sector. By expanding markets and making the most of B.C.’s forest resources, FII and its partners are supporting long-term resilience. This includes advancing wood use in B.C., supporting growth in mass timber and prefabricated construction, and pursuing opportunities across international markets. The report includes the range of work underway, and the milestones achieved over the past year. 
OTTAWA — Canada’s annual inflation rate in May accelerated more than expected to 3.2%, a 29-month high, data showed on Monday, as the impact of higher crude oil prices due to the Iran conflict continued to filter through gasoline costs. Analysts polled by Reuters had estimated the annual inflation rate to touch 3% in May, up from 2.8% in April. The prices, however, are already showing a major reversal in June after an interim peace deal was signed between the United States and Iran last week, which, analysts have said, could help ease the headline number in June. Statistics Canada said excluding the impact of gasoline prices, the consumer price index still posted a higher increase of 2.2% in May from 2% in April. The monthly inflation rate rose to 1% in May, exceeding expectations of 0.8% rise. This is the highest monthly rise in 15 months.
Lumber climbed past $630 per thousand board feet, the highest level since October, amid higher effective US import costs on Canadian softwood and tighter expected supply. Prices rose despite a small reduction in preliminary antidumping and countervailing duties, because the combined tariff burden remains high at about 35.9% including the existing Section 232 levy, set to take effect in August. The market is also being driven by uncertainty ahead of final duty decisions, prompting buyers to accelerate purchases and lift near-term demand. At the same time, US domestic production is still constrained, while housing-related consumption remains structurally large, with softwood lumber and engineered wood products heavily used in new construction. Each new home requires roughly 15,000 board feet of lumber plus extensive engineered wood products, keeping baseline consumption elevated even in a softer housing cycle. [END]
Mass Timber+
Wood Connections Summary: BC Wood is gearing up for a busy fall season, with registration now open for the 2026 Global Buyers Mission in Whistler and a slate of market development opportunities stretching from Vancouver to Mexico. The annual GBM returns September 10–12, bringing together international buyers, architects, designers, manufacturers, distributors, and wood industry professionals for business matchmaking, networking, educational sessions, and WoodTALKS™ programming. The association has also announced the first round of GBM sponsorship winners and is encouraging companies to act quickly as exhibit space and hotel accommodations are filling fast. Beyond Whistler, BC Wood is recruiting participants for the Interior Design Show in Vancouver, Tecno Mueble in Guadalajara, and is exploring a coordinated presence at California’s Pacific Coast Builders Conference. Meanwhile, TWIG’s Wood-First-Wednesday program continues to expand its reach, with a new partnership extending networking and knowledge-sharing opportunities into the Robson and North Thompson region.
2025 was a landmark year for FSC Canada, one defined by transition, renewed clarity, and a deepening of the values that anchor our mission. I am proud to reflect on a year in which FSC Canada strengthened its role as a trusted leader in responsible forest stewardship. This year marked an important moment in our organization’s history with the retirement of François Dufresne, who served as President and CEO for more than a decade. François guided FSC Canada through periods of significant change in the forest sector, always with integrity, steadiness, and a commitment to collaboration. …We also welcomed Monika Patel as FSC Canada’s new President and CEO. Monika brings a clear strategic vision, a deep understanding of the FSC system, and a values driven approach that aligns strongly with our mission. Her leadership has already brought renewed focus to our priorities and strengthened our engagement with partners across the country. 
British Columbians are subsidizing the province’s forest companies to the tune of tens of millions of dollars each year under a government program that defrays the cost of shipping logs from remote forests to distant mills. In 2023, logging companies received nearly $33 million in public funds to underwrite the costs of hauling “low-value” logs to wood pulp and pellet mills. …The subsidies are posted online by the Forest Enhancement Society of BC, or FESBC, an organization created and funded by the provincial government and that reports to Forests Minister Ravi Parmar. The society’s mandate includes “preventing and mitigating the impact of wildfires” and “improving habitat for wildlife.” But many FESBC funds simply underwrite the increasing costs of hauling logs. Those expenses have been marching upward as logging activities push farther into the hinterland. That has some questioning whether the funding is accelerating the logging of forests, rather than enhancing them.
Did you know that BC has nearly 600 native bee species? This is among the highest diversity in Canada. The Southern Interior alone has around 400 species. The forest provides both forage opportunities and nesting habitat for bees. Many bee species live in trees, specifically cracks, bark sloughs and small crevices. So snags! We knew they were good for something. Over the decomposition of a standing tree it provides different types of standing habitat. As the tree rots, the bark begins to slough. Sloughing Bark on a snag is an important old forest attribute. While we can’t maintain everything in a block, keeping snags provides habitat for a variety of bees and other insects.
People and communities in B.C. will be safer and better informed about flood hazards as the first phase of new floodplain maps is completed. The Province, in partnership with Natural Resources Canada and the Fraser Basin Council, has released new floodplain maps, covering five waterways and 58 communities, under the Government of Canada’s Flood Hazard Identification Mapping Program. …“Floodplain maps do more than chart where water may go, they reveal where risk lives, reflect how our world is changing and shape how we prepare for the future,” said Randene Neill, B.C.’s Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship. “Updating these maps through the mapping program is one more step in implementing the B.C. Flood Strategy. They help turn insight into action and can go a long way in helping communities make informed choices, plan ahead and act quickly if the time comes.”
OTTAWA — Three young women and two environmental groups on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the Canadian government seeking to force it to develop an action plan to meet its key climate goals. The lawsuit comes as Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government shifts Canada’s climate and energy priorities, rolling back key environmental policies while advancing major energy and infrastructure projects to reduce dependence on the United States. Announcing the lawsuit, plaintiff Shirley Barnea, a university student from Quebec, said authorities had an obligation to build a sustainable future for younger generations. …The legal action aims to compel the government “to chart a credible, up-to-date course of action” and “to protect Canadians from the worsening impacts of climate change,” according to a statement from the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), which is also a party to the lawsuit.
UK — The City watchdog has closed an investigation into the owner of the Drax power plant after an almost 10-month review into whether the company’s sustainability claims mislead shareholders. The Financial Conduct Authority said it had “reviewed thousands of pages” of “complex material” relating to the company’s sourcing of wood pellets for the Drax power plant in Selby, North Yorkshire, but “did not find evidence that justified any further action”. The regulator began the investigation last year into whether Drax’s annual reports and accounts between 2021 and 2023 misled shareholders or left out important information investors needed to know about the origins of its biomass fuel. …Ofgem found at the time that there was no evidence to suggest the breach was deliberate, and said instead that it was “technical in nature”. It also found no evidence that the biomass sourced was unsustainable or that Drax had wrongly laid claim to renewable energy subsidies.
As summer temperatures rise across British Columbia, WorkSafeBC is urging employers to take proactive steps to protect workers from heat stress. Simple measures such as providing shade, cool-down areas, drinking water, and adjusting work schedules can significantly reduce the risk of heat-related illness. WorkSafeBC has also updated its Preventing Heat Stress at Work guide and released a new incident investigation video examining an explosion caused by a key fob left in a service vehicle. WorkSafeBC is drawing attention to another serious hazard: contact with power lines. New data shows that 74% of power-line-related injuries involve non-electrical workers, particularly those in construction, painting, and heavy equipment operations. Additional updates include consultations on proposed safety rule changes for shotcrete work, upcoming 2027 assessment rate information sessions, and a free June 24 webinar on road safety for small businesses. New incident investigation report summaries are available to help employers and workers understand the factors that contribute to workplace incidents so similar incidents can be prevented from happening in the future. 
Hundreds of people were allowed to return to their homes in West Kelowna, B.C., on Tuesday evening after a fast-moving wildfire forced several neighbourhoods to evacuate earlier in the day. The local fire chief said the human-caused fire started in Kalamoir Regional Park in the late morning and quickly threatened hundreds of homes, some of which he said crews have saved by inches. …The fire started in Kalamoir Regional Park late Tuesday morning and quickly spread toward the Casa Loma and Lakeview Heights neighbourhoods, on a hillside above Okanagan Lake. …West Kelowna Fire Rescue said more than 100 firefighters worked to contain the flames against strong, gusting winds and dry conditions…. The fire, which officials say burned at least eight hectares of land, is listed as human-caused.