BC Wood is set to welcome delegates and buyers from British Columbia and around the world to the 22nd Annual Global Buyers Mission (GBM), kicking off tomorrow in Whistler, BC. This signature event brings Canadian wood manufacturers together with pre-qualified international buyers in an exclusive, business-focused environment. The GBM opens with a welcome breakfast, where Premier David Eby will address participants and officially launch the trade show. His presence underscores the critical role of BC’s wood and forestry sector in driving innovation, sustainability, and economic growth. Nearly 800 attendees are expected, a testament to the GBM’s significance in connecting Canadian producers with global markets.
New this year, a high-profile panel will analyze the impact of escalating U.S. softwood lumber duties, now raised to over 35%. Introduced by Forest Minister Parmar, the panel features Mo Amir, Nick Arkle, Liz Kovach, and Kurt Niquidet, who will provide insights on how these tariffs could disrupt supply chains, inflate costs, and reshape the industry.
On the tradeshow floor, buyers will discover Canada’s diverse range of value-added wood products, from mass timber to specialty lumber. Networking continues into the evening, with a reception at Whistler’s Roundhouse Lodge, set against the stunning mountain backdrop.
Trade disputes between the United States and Canada are nothing new. What began as two neighbouring countries seeking to expand their markets and assert economic sovereignty has evolved into a broad range of conflicts. These historical trade disputes have included accusations of unfair subsidies, protectionist tariffs, and, more recently, concerns over national security, fentanyl and border security. Softwood lumber, one of the most important items on the list of Canadian exports to the U.S., has been consistently under attack by different American administrations. …Though some might call it weakness, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent move to lift the retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods covered under CUSMA, while retaining tariffs on auto, steel and aluminum, is arguably a wise strategy. The end goal is to minimize economic damage to Canada. According to Carney, this tariff removal on about 85 per cent of Canada-U.S. trade is consistent with the commitment under CUSMA.
Lumber prices that have dropped more than 20% over the past month are prompting one of North America’s largest producers to throttle back output by 12%. Interfor said Thursday that it would reduce hours and reconfigure shifts as well as lengthen holiday breaks and maintenance shutdowns at its mills in Canada and the US to reduce output by about 145 million board feet through year-end. Lumber futures, which had fallen 18 of the past 22 trading sessions rose in response. …Interfor, which has headquarters in BC, is among the big Canadian sawyers that have shifted operations into the US as duties and diminished log availability have put sawmills out of the money back home. About 50% of Interfor’s capacity these days is in the US South. Another 12% is Washington and Oregon, where mills compete fiercely with Canadian rivals to sell the same species of wood. [to access the full story a WSJ subscription is required]
WASHINGTON – Canada’s government joined the Canadian lumber industry in seeking a trade panel review over certain softwood lumber products from Canada under the USMCA, according to a U.S. government notice posted online on Monday. The two requests were filed with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Association following the departments July 29 decision following its investigation into the matter, the notices posted to the Federal Register said.
BURNABY, BC — Interfor Corporation announced plans to reduce its lumber production by approximately 145 million board feet between September and December of 2025, representing approximately 12% of its normal operating stance. The temporary curtailments will be through a combination of reduced operating hours, prolonged holiday breaks, reconfigured shifting schedules and extended maintenance shut-downs. The curtailments are expected to impact all of Interfor’s operating regions, with both the Canadian and US operations expected to reduce their production levels by approximately 12% each. The curtailments are in response to persistently weak market conditions and ongoing economic uncertainty. The Company will continue to monitor market conditions across all of its operations and adjust its production plans accordingly. [END]
WASHINGTON — US President Trump is indicating that he’ll ask the Supreme Court tomorrow to overturn a federal appeals court ruling that found many of his 
CALGARY — Fewer tourists are coming to Jasper, Alberta than usual this year, but it’s not for a lack of people eager to visit the picturesque Rocky Mountain town. Numbers are about as good as they can be, considering about one-fifth of the town’s overnight accommodations burned when a ferocious wildfire swept through last summer, said Tourism Jasper CEO Tyler Riopel. …As the Jasper recovery continues, tourism operators affected by wildfires elsewhere this year are struggling. Northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba have been particularly hard hit, which has taken a toll on outfitting businesses that cater to hunters and fishers. Roy Anderson, acting CEO of the Saskatchewan Commission of Professional Outfitters, said his group is surveying members to quantify the financial impact. “We’re talking millions of dollars in terms of lost revenue at a minimum,” he said.
Western is proud to launch a refreshed brand that better reflects who we are, where we’re going and what our customers, communities, and partners expect from us. Our refreshed brand is rooted in our belief that wood plays a vital role in building a more sustainable future. Wood has always been part of everyday life – in the homes we live in, the furniture we use and the warmth and comfort we seek in natural materials. At Western, we are proud to carry that legacy forward by helping meet today’s demand for beautiful, low-carbon building materials. This brand refresh is grounded in our long-term strategy and shaped by the people who make Western what it is. It reflects our continued commitment to quality, sustainability and stewardship. Explore the rest of our site to see how our refreshed brand reflects the care we put into everything we do, from forest to finished product.
The monitor overseeing the credit-protection process for San Group, a Langley-based forestry company with debts in excess of $150 million, has applied to the courts for an extension of the process in order to complete the sale of the company’s assets. Deloitte Restructuring has asked the courts to extend the process to Oct. 31. It currently expires Sept. 5. …According to the monitor’s ninth report to the courts, filed this week, the sale of three San Group properties has now closed, and only a Langley farm remains of the major assets. The sale of the Coulson Mill in Port Alberni closed June 20 with proceeds of $12.06 million, the Langley mill site closed July 15, netting $12.37 million, and the Port Alberni value-added facility sale closed July 29, netting $8.25 million. On top of that, Tradewest Asset Solutions has now completed the sale of all of San Group’s remaining inventory, which resulted in $1.178 million being added to the pile.
MANIWAKI, Quebec — The Domtar sawmill in Maniwaki, Quebec, will temporarily close again next month. The company, which acquired the mill when it bought Resolute Forest Products in 2023, confirmed Wednesday to Radio-Canada that the indefinite closure will begin Oct. 10. It cited difficult market conditions and US softwood lumber duties, which rose to more than 35 per cent last month. About 120 workers at the mill lost their jobs in a previous closure that started in December 2024. The mill reopened for about 50 hours a week at the start of June. About 3,800 people lived in the western Quebec community as of the 2021 census. [END]
Canada’s new homes market is booming with near record housing starts — with one exception, Ontario. 
Lumber futures fell again Wednesday, dropping to their lowest prices since last autumn. …Futures for September delivery shed $6 or about 1.1%, to end at $524 per thousand board feet. Futures have now declined 18 of the past 22 trading sessions. The selloff—about 25% over the past month—is reminiscent of the wild trading in lumber during the Covid-19 pandemic [but this time] …the continuing gyrations have been driven by trade policy. Lumber buyers stocked up ahead of a big increase in the duties levied on Canadian imports. …President Trump’s threats for additional tariffs on imported wood added incentive to hoard lumber. …The $54 difference in price between lumber futures for delivery this month and those for November in midday trading was well above the cost of warehousing wood for two months and a sign that traders’ demand outlook is bleak, Stinson Dean said. [to access the full story a WSJ subscription is required]
Lumber prices, which shed more than 20% in August, have continued to fall to start September, hitting their lowest price this year thanks to a glut of wood that was piled up ahead of a big increase in duties on Canadian imports. “There has clearly been a speculative inventory accumulation at every level from mills to single location lumber dealers,” said Matt Layman, who publishes Layman’s Lumber Guide “For the first time in my 40-plus year career there is indeed a wall of wood that must be liquidated.” As with many raw materials, the lumber market has been whipsawed by President Trump’s tariff threats. The White House is studying tariffs on imported lumber in the name of national security. …Any lumber tariff will come on top of duties on Canadian softwood lumber that rose to about 35% for most producers, from 15% last year. [to access the full story a WSJ subscription is required]
The Canada Wood Group Newsletter includes these headlines and more:
Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, remote piloting, and robotics are beginning to have a profound impact on the forest industry as we have known it, from forest management to log harvesting and delivery and right through to lumber production. This is only the beginning. In a recent interview, Bill Gates said that AI will have a more profound impact on humanity than the personal computer (PC) did. …From a forest management perspective, AI offers incredible potential for planning forest cutblocks and reforestation. In the face of climate change, forest companies will have no choice but to design forests that are more resilient to forest fires, pest and pathogens. The ability of AI to provide a variety of solutions in minutes, based on collating and analyzing past research, will make a forest technician’s job easier, while providing better solutions. This is a clear example of using AI for good—and we should make the most of it.
The Government of Canada says it is just over a 10th of the way to its goal of planting two billion trees across the country. Launched in 2021, Canada’s 2 Billion Trees program has reached the milestone of 228 million trees planted, with agreements already in place to plant a total of nearly one billion within the coming years. As of June, 11 provinces and territories, 58 Indigenous partners, 30 municipalities and 88 non-governmental organizations has signed or are negotiating tree-planting agreements. The program aims to protect crucial wildlife habitat, restore areas impacted by wildfires and sequester carbon. …Some of these initiatives include creating at least 10 new national parks and marine conservation areas and 15 new urban parks, as well as designating 30 per cent Canada’s land and water as conservation areas by 2030. The federal government has also committed to reach an emissions reduction target of 40 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050.
Air quality warnings are becoming a feature of Ontario summers, but for most, the source has felt far away. As southern Ontarians stayed indoors … under air quality warnings this summer, fires closer to home ignited. In July and August, the province experienced a number of wildfires in places including the Kawarthas, a couple hours northeast of Toronto, and near the town of Huntsville, in the cottage country region of Muskoka. Farther north, First Nations communities like the Pikangikum First Nation and North Spirit Lake First Nation were evacuated due to wildfires and smoke… How do wildfires in southern Ontario stack up to the massive fires farther north, and what can be done? Here’s what you need to know. …fires in southern Ontario are different for two main reasons: the forest type and the many, many people here.
Activists are pushing for more information about where aerial spraying of glyphosate is happening after the Nova Scotia government has stopped releasing the locations for spraying of the herbicide by forestry companies. However the forestry sector says the use of the herbicide gets unfair attention, and identifying the locations draws protesters who block access to woodlots. Glyphosate is used by some woodlot owners to …reduce competition for more profitable softwood species… Previously, the provincial government provided premises identification (PID) numbers for where aerial sprays were approved. That didn’t happen when four approvals for spraying were issued in August. “We don’t have to tell everyone where these PIDs are, because it attracts people who don’t know the full story about forest management to show up roadblock your private woodlot, and prevent you from managing it as you see fit,” said Todd Burgess, executive director of Forest Nova Scotia. 
There are fewer injuries and deaths occurring on B.C. construction sites compared to previous years and decades, although much work remains to ensure worker safety. “Struck by’s,” “falls from” and “trips and slips” are among the most common incidents on job sites, and major events like Kelowna’s deadly crane collapse in 2021 highlight the risks that accompany modern construction. Work-related death claims in the construction sector totalled 31 in 2020, 29 in 2021, 54 in 2022, 39 in 2023 and 25 in 2024, according to data provided by WorkSafeBC. …Dave Baspaly, president of the Council of Construction Associations (COCA), which represents all major construction associations in BC said… the industry’s improved safety record is a result of more training, stricter enforcement of WorkSafeBC rules, and a culture of compliance where non-adherence is not tolerated. He emphasizes that proactive measures, like rigorous inspections and coordinated site management, are making construction sites safer.
It’s been a summer of blue skies for British Columbia’s Lower Mainland, but that’s changed with a wave of wildfire smoke rolling into the region. The Metro Vancouver Regional District has issued an air quality advisory for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley due to elevated levels of fine particulate matter causing hazy conditions across the region. At a Wednesday briefing, B.C. Forests Minister Ravi Parmar said conditions were expected to worsen, with much of Southern B.C. to be affected in the days to come. “We should expect to see wildfire smoke come south in the days ahead. Weather forecasters are saying that the smoke is going to be a major factor in the next 24 to 72 hours,” Parmar said. “There are already reports of smoke hitting communities. We do expect more smoke to arrive in the central and southern interior tonight or tomorrow, and reach Abbotsford and the coast by Friday.”
