Region Archives: Canada

Business & Politics

Canadian red tape is worse than Trump tariffs, say industry groups

By Ilyo Gridneff
The Financial Times in the Financial Post
April 27, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

Derek Nighbor

Canada’s leading industry groups say Prime Minister Mark Carney’s effort to cut red tape is floundering, costing the country billions more in trade losses than Trump’s tariffs. Forestry, oil and gas, and auto industry representatives said they are frustrated at the pace of regulatory reform that is central to Carney’s efforts to insulate Canada from Trump’s devastating trade war. “Ottawa needs to align its regulatory policy objectives with economic reality,” said Derek Nighbor, president of the Forest Products Association of Canada, which represents one of the country’s largest employers. Nighbor said over the past decade overlapping government policies, mostly environmental regulation, have “chilled strategic investments” and become “a productivity and competitiveness killer, driving away investment”. Last week, Carney announced a “first-ever” investment summit in Toronto. …But industry groups warn this plan is impeded by the slow implementation of a red-tape review that found nearly 500 ways to streamline services.

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7 key takeaways from the Liberal government’s spring economic snapshot

By Darren Major
CBC News
April 28, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

François-Philippe Champagne

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne introduced their spring economic update on Tuesday. Here are some key highlights:

  • State of the federal books – a lower-than-forecasted deficit for the fiscal year that ended last month. November’s budget was projecting a deficit of $78.3 billion for the year, but Tuesday’s update says the deficit came in at $66.9 billion. The government saw a $60-billion uplift, in part due to revenue from surging oil prices. Tuesday’s outlook outlines $37.5 billion of spending on newly announced measures.
  • Emphasis on skilled trades recruitment – aiming to recruit 80,000-100,000 new skilled trade workers by the 2030-31 fiscal year. The government is pumping $6 billion over five years behind its promise to recruit, train and hire thousands of new workers. Included is an apprenticeship grant in the shape of a $400 per week income top-up to apprentices completing in-class training. There will also be a one-time bonus of $5,000 for apprentices who complete their Red Seal certification.

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Control the Controllable: Canada must focus on boosting competitiveness

Forest Products Association of Canada
April 29, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

The Canadian forest sector is weathering a perfect storm, facing three years of soft markets, protracted geopolitical conflicts and instability in global markets, and combined tariffs and duties averaging 45% on Canadian softwood lumber products entering the US.  “While we welcome the measures to improve the speed at which we can build homes, through code and regulatory improvements for modern methods of construction, we still need a clear signal that Canada intends to be a more competitive place for forest sector investment — more responsive regulation, improved transportation supply chain performance, and tax and investment tools that accelerate the use of Canadian wood products here at home while helping companies modernize facilities and keep people working,” said Derek Nighbor, FPAC President and CEO. “We look forward to Minister Hodgson’s release of the Forest Sector Transformation Task Force report, which should provide a much-needed blueprint for enhancing competitiveness and ensuring long-term growth and stability.”

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Bestar and South Shore closures: Unifor calls for emergency support for the furniture manufacturing sector

By Unifor
PR Newswire
April 28, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

LAC-MÉGANTIC, QC – The back-to-back closures of Bestar and Meubles South Shore within a 24-hour period send a clear message: Quebec’s furniture manufacturing sector is in jeopardy. A total of 120 Unifor members are losing their jobs after Bestar announced it would close its Lac-Mégantic plant. “Ottawa has the tools to act and has demonstrated its ability to respond quickly and effectively to sectoral crises affecting the country’s industrial economy. Minister Champagne’s announcement last week launching a safeguard investigation into low-cost imports in this sector is a step in the right direction. Now, that process must be accelerated and every effort made to protect good jobs in this country,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. On April 27, Meubles South Shore announced it would cease furniture production after 86 years of operation at its Sainte-Croix and Coaticook facilities, another major blow to Quebec’s furniture manufacturing sector.

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B.C. premier dances rather than admitting DRIPA means co-government

By Vaughn Palmer
The Vancouver Sun
April 28, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Vaughn Palmer

VICTORIA — Premier David Eby faced tough questions this week for abandoning his changes to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act in the face of strong opposition from First Nations. Are the New Democrats “now co-governing the province with First Nations leadership?” asked Opposition Leader Trevor Halford. Eby’s initial response was to accuse the Conservatives “of deliberately twisting this to spread fear.” But Halford pointed out that he was simply quoting Terry Teegee, BC regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations. …Teegee had said, “Ultimately First Nations have to get in the room — and to the negotiations table to make decisions on these important matters.” Halford pressed Eby a third time. …No way was Eby going acknowledge the regional chief on co-governance. …Eby’s ducking aside, it remained an open question whether the premier or the regional chief was the more reliable source of information on co-governance.

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Families invited to Interior Logging Association’s 68th annual convention weekend

Castanet
April 29, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West

“Stronger Together for Forestry’s Future” is the theme in Kamloops this weekend when the Interior Logging Association hosts its 68th AGM and Convention. The family friendly event is free and open to the public, and it promises a plethora of fun on Friday (May 1) and Saturday (May 2) at the Powwow Grounds. With vendors, live demonstrations and two food trucks: Kamloops’ own Hungryish and Frosty’s Ice Cream. “Everybody’s welcome, as it’s a great free family friendly event that is open to the public,” ILA representative Meagan Preston says. “Come down, walk around, have some local food, and enjoy the day. There’s lots to check out, including some large and impressive equipment you can see up close.” The event will feature the returning virtual tree falling competition. …On the business side of things inside Coast Kamloops Hotel and Conference Centre, Friday’s breakfast will be followed by the AGM and then B.C. Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar’s keynote address at lunch. 

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Alberta targets students with new skilled trades initiative

By Rich Christianson
The Woodworking Network
April 28, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West

CALGARY, Alberta — Alberta’s government is investing $6 million over three years to support the next generation of skilled trades workers with the launch of the Alberta Trades Discovery Centre. The industry-led initiative will offer junior high and high school students hands-on exposure to careers in the skilled trades before they graduate. Set to open this fall, the Alberta Trades Discovery Centre will provide a dedicated, professional space where students can explore construction trades, learn directly from experienced tradespeople and discover what they are good at and what they enjoy, helping them make informed choices about high school courses, post-secondary pathways and future careers.

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Upskilling training programs to address labour shortfalls in Western Canada

By Peter Caulfield
Journal of Commerce
April 28, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West

A recent report by the Canada West Foundation (CWF) says construction workers need training in specialized (often technical) competencies, to enable them to move between sectors of the industry. According to the CWF report, residential and Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional (ICI) projects have different labour requirements. …As the federal government’s Major Projects Office gets up to speed … CWF says it will not be a shortage of money or projects holding back activity, but a lack of workers with the right skills. …A number of institutions in Western Canada are already addressing the labour mobility challenge with micro-credential courses. For example, the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) offers five micro-credentials through its Zero Energy and Emissions Building (ZEB) Learning Centre. …TradeUpBC, in partnership with 17 provincial post-secondary institutions, has developed a series of micro-credentials for the construction trades. …NAIT also offers micro-credentials in construction leadership. 

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Nanaimo residents split over rezoning of forest near Cedar for industry

By Hannah Link
The Times Colonist
April 28, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

A Nanaimo public hearing on a controversial rezoning application to allow for the industrial development of forested lands near Cedar is entering its third week. …The application was put forward last spring by Harmac Pacific, which operates the Nanaimo Forest Products site. The land is zoned as “rural resource,” meaning the property can’t be used for industry. The rezoning proposal includes a parkland designation for an 11.3-hectare section of “forested buffer” alongside the popular Cable Bay Trail. Paul Sadler, CEO of Harmac Pacific, said the company built the Cable Bay trail in 1990. “We’re interested in protecting it,” he said, adding that the buffer section would quadruple the size of the park area.Sadler said he feels that the public hearing process has been “hijacked” by those opposed to the rezoning… noting that any applications to use the site after it is rezoned would undergo environmental assessments and a government permit process.

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Lloyd’s alleges arson in $31M battle over gutted B.C. sawmill

By Stefan Labbé
The Times Colonist
April 27, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

San Group companies and federal bank launch multi-pronged legal attack after insurer denies claims over major 2024 fire in Delta. …At the heart of the dispute is Lloyd’s Underwriters and its move to deny a nearly $31-million insurance claim over claims the fire was not an accident, but a deliberate act of arson carried out by the owners. In a Dec. 30, 2025, letter Lloyd’s informed the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and San Group subsidiary Acorn Forest Products that it was voiding the company’s primary and excess insurance policies. According to court documents, Lloyd’s determined the fire was “caused by arson perpetrated by Acorn, alone or in collusion with others” and through the acts or under the guidance of the company’s “directing minds.” The San Group has strongly denied the allegations. Both Acorn and its parent company maintain that Lloyd’s has failed to provide proof of arson and is using the allegation to avoid a massive payout.

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Ford government pitches new strategy to protect, diversify Ontario forest sector

Northern Ontario Business
April 29, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Doug Ford & Ian Dunn

The Ford government is taking “swift, strategic and decisive action” with a new strategy to protect Ontario’s staggering forest products industry. Associate Minister of Forestry and Forest Products Kevin Holland provided those remarks in introducing the province’s new Roadmap to Protecting the Forest Sector, in Toronto, April 28. …It’s a 10-year plan geared to give the sector a competitive edge and position the Ontario sector as a G7 leader in manufacturing and export wood products. Natural Resources Minister Mike Harris summarized the three-pillared plan as protecting forestry-related jobs and business, identifying new global markets, and growing the demand for wood products at home. …Since 2020, Holland said, the province has spent more than $350 million on forest sector innovation. Expect to see more “exciting” funding opportunities in the months ahead, he said. Holland said the road map is a step-by-step plan to promote forest products at home and aboard while building up the industry’s workforce. 

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The Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities Voices Concern Over Nairn Centre Mill Curtailment – Wawa-news.com

Wawa News
April 28, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada East

The Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM) is expressing concern following the announcement that Interfor will indefinitely curtail operations at its mill in Nairn Centre. …The Nairn Centre mill has long been a cornerstone employer, supporting generations of families and contributing to the region’s economic stability. FONOM acknowledges the leadership shown by the Township of Nairn and Hyman and the Town of Espanola in their quick, collaborative response to support those affected. Their commitment to working with partners and supporting impacted residents reflects the strength and resilience of Northern communities. FONOM notes that this curtailment is not an isolated event, but part of a broader trend impacting the forestry sector across Northern Ontario. Ongoing softwood lumber tariffs, combined with market pressures and rising costs, continue to strain mills and the communities that depend on them.

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Northern Pulp continues work on closure plan for Pictou County site

By Michael Gorman
CBC News
April 28, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada East

Northern Pulp’s closure plan for its mill site in Abercrombie Point, N.S., is still not complete, but a B.C. court heard Tuesday that the plan could soon begin coming into focus as the company’s creditor protection process continues to play out. …Because the plan is not final, the monitor notes in its report that it’s subject to change. The report says the company will explore options for the mill site and remaining property, which could include trying to market it to sell. Failing that, however, demolition is expected to begin in November. The court also heard Tuesday that the sale of the company’s timberlands to a company owned by billionaire blueberry mogul John Bragg is expected to be complete in the coming days. That sale, worth $235 million, will generate money for the closure plan, the mill’s creditors and to wind up the company pension.

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Quebec’s South Shore Furniture closing as sales dwindle amid Trump tariffs

By Alessia Simona Maratta
Global News
April 27, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Quebec’s South Shore Furniture said it will end all operations after a 77% drop in sales between 2022 and 2025. The family-owned company says its facilities in Sainte-Croix and Coaticook will gradually cease operations in the coming weeks. Its 126 employees were informed of the decision Monday. …Charles Laflamme said the company made every effort to maintain operations and jobs but could no longer continue in a market “where the rules of the World Trade Organization are not respected.” The company points to years of heavy dumping of furniture from China and Vietnam into Canadian and US markets, which it says drove down prices. He added that recent US tariffs on certain Asian countries redirected more of those products into Canada, while tariffs affecting Canada slowed exports south of the border, effectively erasing demand on both sides. …The company was one of the last major Canadian furniture manufacturers assembling products domestically.

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Finance & Economics

West Fraser reports Q1, 2026 net loss of $188 million

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd.
April 29, 2026
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States, International

VANCOUVER, BC — West Fraser Timber reported the first quarter results of 2026. First quarter sales were $1.334 billion, compared to $1.165 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025. First quarter earnings were $(188) million, compared to earnings of $(751) million in the fourth quarter of 2025. First quarter Adjusted EBITDA was $(66) million compared to $(79) million in the fourth quarter of 2025. Included in first quarter Adjusted EBITDA in the Lumber segment is ($114) million of duty adjustments related to prior periods compared to nil in the fourth quarter of 2025. …North America Engineered Wood Products segment Adjusted EBITDA of $11 million, and Europe Engineered Wood Products segment Adjusted EBITDA of $10 million. …Sean McLaren, West Fraser’s President and CEO said “Excluding the impact of prior year duty adjustments, we were pleased to see all of our core segments – lumber, NA EWP, and Europe EWP – report positive Adjusted EBITDA.” 

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Bank of Canada holds interest rate for fourth time but warns on oil shock, trade risks

By Paula Tran
The Financial Post
April 29, 2026
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada

The Bank of Canada held its policy interest rate at 2.25 per cent for the fourth consecutive time on Wednesday, but warned that it would be closely watching the impact of rising oil prices on inflation in the coming months amid ongoing uncertainty caused by the war in Iran. …Inflation has been close to two per cent for over a year but rose to 2.4 per cent in March after slowing to 1.8 per cent in February. The central bank base case forecast is that inflation will peak in April at about three per cent before returning to the two per cent target in early 2027, but that is assuming global oil prices decline. U.S. tariff measures along with the uncertainty surrounding the Canada-United-States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) have also added to the uncertainty ahead of the July 1 CUSMA review deadline, especially since the Canadian government has not yet launched formal discussions with U.S. officials.

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Lumber Futures Hit 7-week Low

Trading Economics
April 28, 2026
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

Lumber futures fell to $566 per thousand board feet, the lowest in seven weeks, as broader uncertainty and ongoing trade tensions weigh on sentiment. The US has recently outlined preliminary antidumping and countervailing duties on Canadian softwood lumber, with the antidumping rate reduced from 20.6% to 10.7% and the countervailing duty trimmed from 14.6% to 14.2%, lowering the combined rate to about 25.9%. Including an existing 10% Section 232 tariff, total effective duties on Canadian imports are expected to remain near 35.9% once they take effect in August. Despite these measures aimed at supporting domestic producers, US sawmill utilization remains relatively weak at around 64%, with capacity use trending lower since 2017, pointing to limited supply response. At the same time, elevated construction costs and high interest rates are continuing to pressure housing activity, with US builder confidence slipping to its lowest level since September 2025. [END]

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Global Consulting Alliance: Forest Sector Outlook Report Q1, 2026

Russ Taylor Global
April 27, 2026
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States, International

RUSS TAYLOR provided the latest quarterly report from the Global Consulting Alliance featuring commentary from six independent consulting companies that focus on the international forestry and wood products sectors. Highlights include:

  • The global forestry sector in Q1 2026 showed early signs of stabilization, although overall activity remained subdued due to weak construction demand in key markets such as the US and the Eurozone.
  • Timber markets remained soft, with only partial price recovery. Export conditions were mixed, reflecting fluctuating demand from China and a gradual shift in trade flows toward alternative markets.
  • The pulp segment showed improvement, supported by stronger packaging demand and supply-side adjustments. In contrast, paper markets, particularly graphic grades, continued to face structural decline.
  • Rising energy and input costs, combined with ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty, placed pressure on margins and contributed to a cautious sector outlook.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Inside a Mount Pleasant architecture studio that practices what it builds: mass timber

By Mihika Agarwal
BC Business Magazine
April 29, 2026
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada West

©SLA Architect

Vancouver, BC — Stephane Laroye Architect (SLA), a Mount Pleasant–based firm focused on sustainable, low-carbon design and mass timber buildings across B.C., has set up shop in a mass timber building. Founded in 2016 by urban planner and architect Stephane Laroye, the studio works across everything from master planning and infrastructure to multi-family, mixed-use and single-family housing. A throughline across the portfolio: engineered wood. …SLA’s own office—located inside Vancouver’s On5 building—uses timber panels throughout and is designed to Passive House standards by Vancouver-based Timber Engineering. Much of the structure was prefabricated off-site, allowing for faster installation than conventional construction methods.

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Postmedia to print most New Brunswick newspapers out of province

By Shane Magee
CBC News
April 29, 2026
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada East

NEW BRUNSWICK — Postmedia plans to stop printing most New Brunswick newspapers in Moncton. Postmedia publishes the Times & Transcript, Telegraph-Journal, Daily Gleaner and other local newspapers. They are printed and distributed from a building along Main Street in downtown Moncton. Dave Arsenault, president of the New Brunswick Media Guild, confirmed that print and distribution will cease in Moncton and be moved elsewhere. …”Following an assessment of printing and insert packaging operations, it was determined that outsourcing these operations from Postmedia’s Moncton facility would allow us to continue serving print subscribers and advertisers while supporting long-term financial sustainability,” the company said Wednesday. The printing will be outsourced out of province starting Aug. 2. Postmedia bought most of New Brunswick’s English-language newspapers from Irving-owned Brunswick News in 2022.

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Save the Date: Wood Solutions Conference Moncton | Nov 17–18, 2026

Canadian Wood Council
April 28, 2026
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada East

Mark your calendars! WoodWorks Atlantic and the Canadian Wood Council are pleased to present the Wood Solutions Conference in Moncton this fall — and we want you there. Join us November 17–18, 2026, at the Delta Hotels Beausejour for Atlantic Canada’s premier event dedicated to wood design and construction. This two-day conference and trade show will feature expert-led seminars, the latest innovations, and valuable networking opportunities for professionals in architecture, engineering, and construction. Full conference details and registration information coming soon. Whether you’re focused on sustainability, looking to expand your toolkit, or exploring what’s possible with wood, this is an event you won’t want to miss. Stay tuned for Early Bird registration details.

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Forestry

Canada’s biggest sustainable forest label has a clear-cutting problem

By Leah Borts-Kuperman
Corporate Knights
April 27, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

For Torrance Coste, the associate director of the Wilderness Committee British Columbia. … has seen the scars of clear-cutting firsthand, in a territory that carries the stamp of approval of Sustainable Forestry Initiative, or SFI, a widely used forestry certification. Coste’s organization forms part of a complaint filed before the Competition Bureau of Canada challenging the integrity of SFI, a system created by the pulp and paper industry in 1994… …The complaint, led by Ecojustice on behalf of the Wilderness Committee, Greenpeace Canada and [others] wants SFI to stop calling their certification “sustainable,” to issue public correction of their claims and to pay a $10-million fine. …Another signatory to the complaint, Peter Wood, is a professor in the Department of Forest Resources Management at the University of British Columbia. …SFI responded, arguing that the organization is governed by an 18-member board divided equally among industry, conservation, and Indigenous and social sectors.

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Plantation gone wild: human hands help nature restore a forest in Comox Valley

By Lisa Hamilton
The Ladysmith – Chemainus Chronicle
April 29, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Mother Nature is the expert on growing forests, but sometimes she needs a helping hand. This hand is especially helpful when something disrupts her well-honed process in the first place. Such is the case with the forestry plantations in qax mot and the effort to restore these areas by the Comox Valley Land Trust (CVLT). Located at the Morrison Creek headwaters up Lake Trail Rd., the qax mot Conservation Area consists of 22 hectares of riparian forests and forestry plantations. …About 9 per cent of qax mot consists of forestry plantations. While it might seem like planting trees is always a good idea, the way the Douglas fir plantations were installed prohibit the natural regenerative cycle essential to a healthy forest. The trees were planted too closely, making it nearly impossible for light to break through the canopy, leaving the forest floor virtually barren of the undergrowth species we associate with a thriving West Coast forest.

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BC Quietly Cuts Penalty for Exporting Unprocessed Logs

By Ben Parfitt
The Tyee
April 30, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Ben Parfitt

As pulp mill and sawmill jobs plummet in number, British Columbia’s Forests Ministry is opening the door to more exports of unprocessed logs, including those produced from trees cut down in old-growth forests. Under current rules, companies … pay a “fee in lieu of manufacturing”… But in February, the provincial government quietly lowered those fees. The reduced fees will make it more profitable to ship logs away, and although the government says it will incentivize more logging, others warn that the change risks undermining  jobs in the province’s struggling forest industry. …Arnold Bercov, a former worker at the Harmac pulp mill and former president of the Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of Canada, warns that the move will hurt B.C.’s forestry sector. …[Saying] the government’s surplus test is “a trap.” “The more logs you export, the more mills that shut down,” he said. “And the more mills that shut down, the more exports you have.”

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Lack of weather radar affects work of firefighters in northern Manitoba, emergency co-ordinator says

By Mike Arsenault
CBC News
April 29, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Extreme weather events in northern Manitoba are challenging to navigate, and the lack of weather radar sites in the northern part of the province only adds to that challenge, experts say. “We experienced that a lot last summer during our forest fire,” said Mike Funk, the emergency co-ordinator for the City of Flin Flon. “We would get reports from Environment Canada, [saying] ‘We’re expecting rainfall,’ and they were great at predicting the time that it would hit [elsewhere]. But by the time it got close to your area, nothing happened.” Last spring, Flin Flon, more than 600 kilometers northwest of Winnipeg, was nearly encircled by wildfires. The city of roughly 5,000 was evacuated for weeks. Funk said a weather radar station in the north would give his community a clearer picture of what type of weather they could expect.

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Mosaic launches crowdsourced reporting pilot as Ladysmith preps for major forest cleanup

The Lake Cowichan Gazette
April 30, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

On May 2 volunteers will converge on the Bush Creek hatchery in Ladysmith to haul illegally dumped waste out of the surrounding forest and watershed. Over the past three years, the community cleanup, run by the Ladysmith Sportsmen’s Club, has removed nearly 160 tonnes of garbage. “Illegal dumping is a serious offence, one that harms our forests and puts communities at risk,” said Ravi Parmar, minister of Forests. “But because of this initiative, we’re reducing the risks and protecting our environment. We’re adding to the 160 tonnes already removed, through on-the-ground, people-led land restoration.” Mosaic Forest Management, which manages approximately 585,000 hectares of private forest land across Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast, will once again supply staff volunteers, donated materials and disposal support for the effort. Volunteers can email judsonboys@shaw.ca to get involoved. More information on Mosaic’s reporting pilot will be available at MosaicForests.com this summer.

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Thousands apply to become B.C. wildfire fighters — but only a few will make the cut

By Akshay Kulkarni
CBC News
April 28, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Thousands of people from across the province applied to become wildfire fighters this season — but the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) says only about 200 made the cut for boot camp last week and even fewer will ultimately land a position. A BCWS official says in his 20-year-long career, this year features the largest-ever group of people applying to be a wildfire fighter. …Chandler Bachtold, an instructor at the boot camp with five years of experience, said that teamwork was a critical aspect of the job — as firefighters build fire lines with tools, lay hose along the forest floor and extinguish hotspots. …BCWS firefighters can spend 14 days out in the field before they get a break, so Bachtold says good physical and mental health is critical — along with the ability to be a team player.

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Industry partners boost University of Alberta forestry programs through new $6.5M research chair

By Bev Betkowski
University of Alberta News
April 28, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Forestry programs at the University of Alberta will be strengthened through the integration of Indigenous perspectives with the establishment of a new $6.5-million research chair. The Endowed Chair in Indigenous Forestry in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences will support experiential learning, Indigenous-led courses and collaborations with communities, academics and industry. $526,065 will be used to establish an accelerator fund through which a community engagement and research co-ordinator will be hired to support the chair’s community and student engagement activities. The endowment supporting the chair is funded through the Forest Resource Improvement Program with sponsorship from Canfor, West Fraser and Weyerhaeuser. …The chair will lead a research program exploring relationships between Indigenous knowledge systems and western forestry practices, and will serve as a mentor to the next generation of Indigenous and non-Indigenous foresters.

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The importance of tree planting as wildfire seasons increase in severity

By Eddie Huband
City News Everywhere Winnipeg
April 27, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Randall Van Wagner

Wildfire season is upon us, and Manitobans are hoping for a reprieve from 2025, which was deemed the one most devastating in the province’s history. As the severity of wildfires increases, so too does the importance of reforestation and tree planting. “Wildfires are more prevalent, and they’re more powerful, and part of the reason is the buildup of fuel. Diseases, shorter and milder winters, less snowpack and less moisture in the spring, are contributing factors making for a difficult situation,” said Randall Van Wagner, the head of national greening program, Tree Canada. Van Wagner says while many areas regenerate on their own, more intense fires like what we saw last year cause more depth of burn in the soil, making it difficult for trees to regenerate. The organization estimates they’ve planted between 500,000 and one million trees in the past five years in Manitoba.

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Alberni Valley students, Scouts help replant Mount Underwood forest burned in 2025 wildfire

The Alberni Valley News
April 29, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

On a flat stretch of burned ground southwest of Port Alberni … close to 100 volunteers help to re-establish a thriving forest. Nearly 3,600 hectares burned during an aggressive wildfire that started on Aug. 11, 2025 and reached within nine kilometres of city limits. A community planting event held on April 16 brought together Mosaic Forest Management staff volunteers, students from the Alberni Valley Land Based Learning class, members of the Port Alberni Scouts, and their teachers, leaders and caregivers to plant seedlings in the footprint of the 2025 Mount Underwood wildfire — a human-caused fire that burned second growth and old growth forests within an area nearly nine times the size of Stanley Park. The seeds for the seedlings were sourced from Mosaic’s Mount Newton seed orchard in Saanich, a Mosaic spokesperson said, and selected for their climate resilience and ability to thrive in the sun-exposed conditions left behind by the fire.

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North Cowichan Council votes against motion urging province to strengthen forest policies

By Robert Barron
The Ladysmith – Chemainus Chronicle
April 29, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

A motion to contact the province and urge it to review and strengthen its forestry policies, including those governing raw-log exports, failed in a 4-3 vote at North Cowichan’s council meeting on April 15. The motion by Coun. Christopher Justice, if it passed, was intended to help improve fibre availability for domestic processing, support value-added wood manufacturing, and sustain forestry employment on Vancouver Island. A number of delegations spoke to council on the issue at the meeting. Arnold Bercov, a former president of the Public and Private Workers of Canada, spoke in favour of council supporting Justice’s motion. …Brian Bull, a long-time worker at the WFP’s curtailed Chemainus sawmill, said if the motion passes, it would create a conversation about the issue at a time when many forest companies and the province don’t want to have that conversation. …Mosaic Forest Management’s Karen Brandt and Nick Broekhuizen also spoke on the issue.

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The B.C. Forest Industry Looks to Speak With a United Voice

By Jim Stirling
Forestnet
April 28, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

In this second in a series of stories, Jim Stirling looks at the issues that have brought the B.C. forest industry to a crisis point, where many community-supporting sawmills have been forced to shut down, and thousands of well-paying jobs in towns and cities across B.C. have vanished. Jim looks at how the province’s associations have recently banded together, to better communicate with a seemingly deaf-to-the-forest industry NDP government. …Today, forestry associations [are] speaking out as one. And when that happens, it sounds a different set of political alarm bells for elected representatives. They start paying attention. … The timing is right for the launch of “Forestry is a Solution”. …The initiative provides an opportunity for members of the public to voice their opinion on the forest industry’s contributions to B.C. and the economy. …The campaign encourages the public to show their support for the forest sector by signing a petition to be forwarded to provincial decision makers.

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First Nation sues B.C for approving logging on land slated for conservation

By Stefan Labbé
Business in Vancouver
April 27, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

A BC First Nation has mounted a legal challenge against the Ministry of Forests after one of its officials approved a timber-cutting permit in forests that overlap with a proposed Indigenous conservation area. In an April 21 application, the Kanaka Bar Indian Band claims a district manager approved cutting permits for Interwest Timber to harvest roughly 35 hectares across four cut blocks. …One of 15 communities of the Nlaka’pamux Nation, most of the Kanaka Bar people live in several reserves south of Lytton, BC. Their traditional territory spans 32,000 hectares of rugged terrain in the Fraser River Canyon. While Interwest has held a forest licence in the area since 1998, the band has intentionally limited industrial activity. In 2021, leadership declined a logging company’s request for access, choosing instead to pursue an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area… with the goal of turning the entire forested area into a conservation area similar to the neighbouring Stein Valley.

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Under the radar: B.C.’s karst protection guidelines desperately need a rewrite, researcher says

By Hope Lompe
National Observer in Victoria Times Colonist
April 27, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

The Island has some of B.C.’s most well-known karst features — such as caves, sinkholes and underground rivers — but they’re threatened by logging. Around five years ago, Mark Worthing — heard a company was planning to log a huge drainage of ­old-growth forest and watershed 350 kilometres north of Victoria, with the only access point being a single road believed to have a karst cave underneath. Worthing, an old-growth forest campaigner [intended to] prove the cave stretched beneath the road, the destructive heavy logging machinery would not be allowed to pass through, and the old growth and watershed would be saved. …While researcher Jenica Ng-Cornish says B.C. has a comprehensively better karst plan than other jurisdictions, it falls short when put into practice. The forestry guidelines are based on aging documents: the 2002 Forest and Range Practices Act and 2003 Karst Management Handbook. There are also six Government Actions Regulation orders on karst protections.

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McMaster expands Forest Nature Preserve and launches first-of-its-kind climate research station

By Peter Rukavina
McMaster University
April 29, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada East

McMaster University is expanding the McMaster Forest Nature Preserve with the addition of more than 14 acres of ecologically significant, biodiverse land in West Hamilton, strengthening opportunities for research, learning and long-term environmental stewardship. The expansion was made possible through a philanthropic gift from the Patrick J. McNally Charitable Foundation, along with land donations from local landowners Mark Tamminga, Joany Verschuuren, Bill Walker, Heather Hill and Ken Vanderlaan. Together, these contributions ensure the land will be protected in perpetuity. The announcement coincided with Earth Week at the McMaster Carbon Sink Forest, where more than 100 students, faculty, staff and community members gathered for the forest’s annual tree planting. “What makes today meaningful is not only what has been protected, but what has been made possible,” said McMaster President and Vice-Chancellor Susan Tighe.

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Lanark County Community Forest passes audit, posts another year of steady growth

Lanark Leeds Today
April 27, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada East

©Lanark County FB

Lanark County’s Community Forest continued to show strong environmental stewardship and financial stability in 2025, according to its latest State of the Forest report. The report outlines a year marked by successful timber operations, ongoing invasive species management, and another clean bill of health from independent auditors reviewing forest practices. The Lanark County Community Forest remains certified under both the Forest Stewardship Council and Sustainable Forestry Initiative standards through the Eastern Ontario Model Forest. …The forest is managed through a partnership with the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority and Upper Canada Forestry Service. Together, they also provide training, public outreach, and technical oversight. …Over the longer term, the report notes the forest has consistently generated net positive revenue for Lanark County since the partnership began in 2006.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Wekweètì hopes forest thinning can fuel community heating project too

By Liny Lamberink
CBC News
April 28, 2026
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada West

Wekweètì’s senior administrative officer is hoping to get a few million dollars from both the territorial and federal governments to support a biomass district heating project in the community. Fred Behrens said he recently found opportunities to apply for money from the territorial government’s GHG Grant Program and the federal government’s Build Communities Strong Fund for the project.  It involves setting up a heat plant across from the community government office in Wekweètì, which is 200 kilometres north of Yellowknife and home to about 100 people. The space will store wood chips and contain three 300-kilowatt biomass boilers that’ll pump heat to 44 homes and 11 institutional buildings through a network of underground pipes. Behrens said the system would be fueled using material gathered from forest thinning and wildfire prevention work around the community. The boilers would also be connected to the community’s diesel generators, using their exhaust as a source of heat too. 

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Health & Safety

Day of Mourning 2026 – April 28th

BC Forest Safety Council
April 28, 2026
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada

The “Day of Mourning” is a day dedicated to honour those who lost their lives as a result of a work-related incident or occupational diseases. Day of Mourning ceremonies have been held across the country ever since the Canadian Labour Congress initiated a national Day of Mourning ceremony on April 28, 1984 and is now recognized annually around the world in more than 100 countries. April 28th was chosen because it was on this date in 1914 that the first Workers’ Compensation Act was brought into effect in Canada.

  • Deaths from workplace injury average nearly a thousand per year in Canada.
  • There are approximately one million workplace injuries a year in Canada
  • A compensable injury occurs every seven seconds of each working day.

Additional coverage:

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Canada Truck Operators Association Convenes to Advance Safety, Compliance, and Supply Chain Resilience

Canada Truck Operators Association
April 28, 2026
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada East

MONTREAL, Quebec — The Canada Truck Operators Association (CTOA) brought together more than 600 transportation and logistics professionals, policymakers, and industry leaders at a sold-out National Industry Appreciation & Information Session, marking one of the largest recent gatherings of Canada’s trucking sector. The event convened stakeholders from Québec and Ontario for focused discussions on supply chain resilience, operational realities, safety, and the evolving needs of Canada’s transportation industry. Keynote speaker Frank Baylis, former Member of Parliament, emphasized the foundational role of trucking in the national economy. …Federal and provincial leaders underscored the importance of collaboration between government and industry stakeholders. The symposium featured two solution-focused panels addressing: Managing Risk, Costs & Growth in Trucking: Insurance, Financing, AI & data-driven insights; and Building a Safer Trucking Industry – Maintenance, Responsibility & Practical Solutions.

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Forest Fires

Ferrabee wildfire near Hell’s Gate remains out of control at 53 hectares

By Dillon white
The Ladysmith – Chemainus Chronicle
April 29, 2026
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

©BCWildfireService

BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) crews continue to respond to a wildfire between Hope and Lytton. According to the latest update from BC Wildfire Service on Wednesday morning (April 29), the Ferrabee fire near Hell’s Gate remains out of control. BCWS defines out-of-control blazes as spreading or anticipated to spread beyond their current perimeter. “This wildfire does not currently pose a threat to structures, critical infrastructure or public safety,” the update reads. The blaze was discovered on Thursday afternoon (April 23) and was estimated to be 27 hectares in size on Saturday (April 25) and 36 hectares on Monday (April 27). The fire has since grown to 53 hectares. Approximately two dozen ground personnel are responding to the blaze alongside aerial support. …The wildfire is believed to be human-caused.

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