Kevin Mason
In mid-April, the Harvard Joint Centre for Housing Studies (JCHS) released its Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity update, forecasting R&R growth ~+1.6% per quarter between now and Q1/26. This projected growth comes after a modest pullback in R&R spending in 2024 and will be welcomed by North American solid-wood producers given expected declines in demand from new residential construction in the coming quarters. …Recent pricing trends persisted in North American lumber markets over the past month, with S-P-F prices continuing lower while SYP prices moved higher. …A modest seasonal uptick in demand from treaters appears to be one of the catalysts creating SYP price improvement, while the pause on tariffs—the threat of which had previously boosted S-P-F prices—has now precipitated a drop in S-P-F lumber pricing.
As we’ve highlighted exhaustively over the past several months, duties on Canadian lumber exports to the US are scheduled to more than double later this year, and there is still potential for incremental lumber tariffs following a Section 232 investigation (there is the potential for tariffs to extend to panels, etc., but even producers don’t have any clarity). Barring an unlikely spike in lumber demand, many Canadian sawmills are likely to discover that the economics of selling lumber into the US no longer work (unless prices move substantially higher—but that will be driven by closures in Canada). …For Canadian producers, do alternative markets exist, or could a surge in Canadian homebuilding replace some of the lost volumes to the US? In short, there are no easily accessible markets that come close to the size of the US and that can be supplied by Canadian mills.
Now that the Liberals have secured another term in office, the big question is whether they can deliver on their ambitious promises, particularly a $26 billion push into prefabricated homes through a new agency called Build Canada Homes (BCH). The plan includes $25 billion in debt financing and $1 billion in equity for Canada’s prefab and modular homebuilders. The goal is to cut construction times by as much as 50%, reduce costs by 20%, and lower emissions by 22% compared to traditional building, while using Canadian technologies like mass timber and softwood lumber. BCH also plans to issue bulk orders to manufacturers, aiming to create steady demand and boost apprenticeships to strengthen the skilled trades workforce. …A problem, Kevin Lee, CEO of the 
MONTRÉAL, RICHMOND, BC, and 
A meeting between the leaders of Canada and the US is not usually considered a high-stakes showdown, but here was newly elected Prime Minister Mark Carney making his first visit to the Oval Office to see President Donald Trump, who has spent months musing about turning America’s northern neighbor into the 51st state. …The interaction offered a glimpse into how Trump has transformed Oval Office meetings from brief and bland encounters into precarious affairs. …His approach can be thrilling for supporters and destabilizing for diplomats accustomed to a more deliberative approach to international relations. … It appears that Carney struck the right balance, at least in Trump’s mind. An invitation to the Oval Office has long been the height of international prestige. …Now, they’re raucous episodes in a foreign policy reality show, starring Trump. While the president can be a gracious host, he openly complains about visitors’ countries.
A lack of economical fibre will result in downtime at a pair of North Okanagan Tolko operations. Plants in Armstrong and at White Valley, near Lumby, will take approximately one week of downtime beginning as early as May 12 at Armstrong Lumber, and May 15 at White Valley. Employees have been notified. “BC regulatory and policy burden continues to impact the availability and accessibility of economic fibre,” said the Vernon-based company in an email. “We’re actively managing our log inventory, and the logs we have available are being deliberately directed to mills to make products where we can deliver the most value — accelerating our production of specialty, value-added (plywood, veneer and lamstock) and engineered wood products. “We recognize the impact this has on our employees and their families, and we will continue to provide as much notice as possible to help them manage through this uncertainty.”
The rapid response of firefighters and workers at Pioneer Log Homes east of Williams Lake to prevent a log pile fire from spreading to other piles in the yard is being credited for saving the construction site from being destroyed. The fire on the west side of the building site at 1527 Old Cariboo Highway 97 (Mile 153) was reported to the 150 Mile House Volunteer Fire Department just after noon Monday and after a mutual aid request fire crews from City of Williams Lake and volunteer departments in Miocene and Wildwood were also dispatched to the scene. They spent nearly half a day dousing the burning logs until the fire was fully extinguished at about 11:30 p.m. Monday. No estimate has been determined on the cost of the logs lost in the fire, which was confined to one large pile covering an area estimated at one hectare.
The Ford government is planning to impose new rules on how local governments greenlight development projects, pushing the changes on municipalities as the province struggles to meet its self-imposed goal of building 1.5 million homes by 2031. The government is relying on a series of changes to Ontario’s planning rules, like reducing studies developers have to undertake and standardizing development charges, in a bid to speed up homebuilding. Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Rob Flack is set to table the legislation next week, with changes including reducing requirements for builders to conduct some municipally-focused studies, allowing builders to bypass some city committees and a raft of changes to the fees developers pay to local governments. …The legislation would give the Ford government the ability to pare down the list of requirements for a development application, establish which studies would be required and force municipalities to accept certified studies presented by the developer.
Interfor recorded a Net loss in Q1’25 of $35.1 million compared to a Net loss of $49.9 million and a Net loss of $72.9 million. Adjusted EBITDA was $48.6 million on sales of $735.5 million in Q1’25. …Notable items include: Lumber prices increased during Q1’25 as reflected in Interfor’s average selling price of $712 per mfbm, up $53 per mfbm versus Q4’24; lumber shipments totalled 863 million board feet, representing a 77 million board foot decrease over the prior quarter. The decrease primarily relates to the sale of the Quebec operations, weather-related curtailments and shipment delays resulting from tariff uncertainty. …The Company is well positioned with a diversified product mix…only about 24% of the Company’s total lumber production is exported from Canada to the US and exposed to a potential tariff. …Interfor expects that over the mid-term, lumber markets will continue to benefit from favourable underlying supply and demand fundamentals.
VANCOUVER — Canfor Corporation reported its Q1, 2025 results. The Company reported an operating loss of $28.5 million for the first quarter of 2025, compared to an operating loss of $45.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. …These results largely reflected improved lumber segment results and, to a lesser extent, the pulp and paper segment. Canfor’s CEO, Susan Yurkovich said, “While improved lumber benchmark prices provided some relief, rising global economic and trade uncertainty, and US lumber duties, create a challenging backdrop. Through our diversified operating platform in Canada, the US South and Europe, we are positioned to mitigate these challenges, while remaining focused on what we can control. …“For our pulp business” Yurkovich added, “this was another solid quarter with improved results and a strong operational performance. However, global economic uncertainty is also putting pressure on global softwood pulp markets in the near term.”
VANCOUVER – Western Forest Products reported improved financial results in the first quarter of 2025, as compared to the same period last year. Net income was $13.8 million in the first quarter of 2025, as compared to a net loss of $8.0 million in the first quarter of 2024, and a net loss of $1.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. …lumber production of 134 million board feet (versus 145 million board feet in Q1 2024); average lumber selling price of $1,533 per mfbm. …North American markets are expected to be volatile due to concerns around the economic impact caused by potential further US tariffs and retaliatory tariffs. The spring building season which typically leads to gains in softwood lumber demand could be more muted. …In Japan, the spring housing demand is stronger than expected and channel inventories have declined. …Demand for our Industrial lumber products in North America are expected to strengthen as supply remains tight across all species.
The Canadian mass timber industry has been making great strides forward, but it has been kept from growing even faster by challenges it faces in procuring reasonably priced insurance and financing. Simon Fraser University (SFU) Renewable Cities recently released a guide that describes these challenges. Titled, Advancing Mass Timber/Risk mitigation and insurance strategies for a thriving sector, the guide presents three what it calls pathways “to help address risks, improve insurability and support a thriving mass timber industry.” Mass timber’s benefits notwithstanding, projects built with it often face higher insurance rates than traditional materials. According to the guide, “This can discourage developers from using mass timber elements…Understanding this could influence a phased approach to a building that could make it easier and cheaper to insure. “It is crucial that the insurance broker negotiating the project understands these specific issues and concerns.”
Professionals working in the lumber and sawmill sector and looking to advance their careers can gain specialized training through BCIT’s Associate Certificate in Industrial Wood Processing, starting June 2025. The IWP program was developed with industry subject matter experts and informed by industry leaders to support upskilling and professional development within the sector. The program is 1-year, delivered online and part-time to allow students to balance work and studies. What sets the program apart is the expertise behind the scenes—seasoned instructors who bring decades of hands-on experience from across North America.
This multi-day Conference, Finding Opportunity in Complexity, will explore the interconnected dimensions of climate change, forest fire management, biodiversity conservation, Indigenous forest stewardship, socio-economic considerations, and the evolving forest industry. From October 5-8, 2025, you can experience beautiful Binesii-wiikwedong (Thunder Bay), on the shore of Anishinaabewi-gichigami (Lake Superior) and the surrounding area. The boreal forests of the “Lakehead”, the traditional territory of Fort William First Nation, have provided a cultural and spiritual foundation for Indigenous Peoples for generations, along with a diverse suite of ecosystem services. Over time the area’s forests have also become a source of economic prosperity, making the region a hub of forest management, scientific inquiry, and policy development. Join us as we transform the challenges of complexity into opportunities by considering the history of forest management, celebrating the contributions and diverse perspectives of our peers, and looking toward resilient and healthy future forests.
The Telkwa Caribou Road Restoration project has received a commitment of $278,257 over three years from the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation. This project will benefit the Telkwa caribou herd through the reclamation of approximately 100 kilometres of road that will according to the project, reduce interactions of caribou with predators, increase habitat availability and access for predators to alternative prey, and increase intact caribou habitat (mature, old-growth forest) into the future. Senior conservation planning biologist Laura Greene said the Telkwa caribou herd has been a conservation concern since the late 1960s. Increasing landscape change, such as logging, road-building, human settlement, etc., is what has driven the decline of the Telkwa caribou, Greene explained. Habitat alteration can result in the direct loss of habitat for caribou, a decrease in habitat quality, and/or a shift in the predator-prey dynamics, resulting in more caribou being killed by predators.
THUNDER BAY — The health of Canada’s forests is an issue if the county is to meet its climate targets, according to a recent study. Co-authored by Julee Boan, partnership director for the Global Nature International Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, with Rachel Plotkin, the boreal project manager at the David Suzuki Foundation, 
British Columbia’s worker protection agency says a planned burn by the province’s wildfire service during the devastating 2023 fire season could have killed or injured multiple firefighters who became “trapped by extreme fire behaviour” that cut off their escape. Inspection reports by WorkSafeBC say the BC Wildfire Service didn’t adequately ensure safety during the burn in the Shuswap region on Aug. 17 that year, and a group of trapped Brazilian firefighters had to retreat to a “safe zone.” WorkSafeBC says they had to burn off fuel around their truck and spend the night because of low visibility, smoke, fire activity and falling trees. They were picked up the next day by another crew that “cut their way into the site.” …The employer did not provide adequate information, instruction, training or supervision for the crews involved, the report says, and the incident “could have resulted in multiple serious injuries or fatalities of workers.”
