Christine Gelowitz
BC’s forest sector is undergoing a momentous change, buffeted by a combination of policy reform, economic uncertainty, new models of shared governance, shifting markets, climate impacts, workforce demographics, and evolving public expectations. This moment feels different than previous market downturns and it’s increasingly obvious there will be no return to “business as usual.” Clearly, a transformation in forestry is underway, some of it overdue, some daunting, and some full of possibility. In moments like this, certainty is elusive. Information floods in while the signals that matter are often buried beneath speculation, opinion, and outright misinformation. It is easy to get stuck in the ‘muddiness’ of it all and hope someone else will bring clarity and provide a clear and obvious path forward.
The policy choices, management decisions, planning assumptions, and stewardship priorities made today will shape BC forests and forest sector for decades. Who will lead in making those decisions? How will we prevent the strong desire to place all the focus on urgent short-term fixes from overshadowing the important and the need for improving our long-term potential? This is a moment fit for forest professionals. [Extracted from the BC Forest Professionals Winter 2026 Magazine]
A central pillar of US President Trump’s protectionist trade policy could be struck down early in the new year, but lawyers and trade experts expect the President to rapidly reconstruct his tariff regime using other legal tools while questions remain about whether companies will be able to secure refunds. …A negative decision would be an indictment of the haphazard way Trump has pushed through his protectionist agenda over the past year, and would create a headache for the US government, which has collected more than US$130-billion in tariff revenue using IEEPA that may need to be refunded. …Dozens of companies have already filed lawsuits in the US Court of International Trade to try to protect their right to a refund or position themselves at the front of the line for one. Canada has less of a stake in the Supreme Court case than some other countries. [to access the full story a Globe & Mail subscription is required]
President Trump has delayed new tariff increases on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets, and vanities for a year, pushing their implementation to 2027, according to a 
After decades of protests, environmental violations, government fines, and civil claims, it’s the end of an era. Crofton’s embattled pulp mill is shutting down after 68 years, leaving 350 workers without jobs and destabilizing dozens of businesses in the region. “The Crofton mill has been challenged for some time now,” Domtar’s Steve Henry said in December 2025. …The mill was once part of a recycling system of sorts; it was designed to turn waste from sawmills into energy, pulp, and paper. But a wave of sawmill closures has decimated BC’s pulp and paper industry. …The Crofton mill was so starved for feedstock it was reportedly importing wood chips from the US. …It’s possible that Domtar will try to sell the mill, or that it could become a worker-invested partnership like the Harmac mill, but prospective purchasers will certainly be wary of the toxic baggage and legal liabilities it carries.
Premier David Eby will lead a trade mission to India promoting British Columbia’s businesses, critical minerals and sustainable wood products, supporting work to build a more independent economy and creating more good jobs for people in British Columbia. … “India is a key market for B.C. with enormous opportunities for trade. This trade mission is about deepening our relationships, supporting good jobs in B.C. and strengthening our position as the economic engine of the new Canadian economy,” Premier Eby said. As India moves toward becoming the world’s third-largest economy, the Premier will highlight opportunities for sustainable forestry, clean energy and responsible mining through new partnerships that are available only in B.C. …During the mission, from Jan. 12-17, 2026, Premier Eby, along with Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Jobs and Economic Growth, will meet with government and business leaders in major centres of commerce and technology, such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh and Bangalore.
Since 2018, notes forestry watcher David Elstone, the British Columbia government has introduced more than 43 measures, policies, plans, systems, laws, reviews and reports about and affecting the BC forest sector. Meanwhile, there have been a series of closures and curtailments (permanent, temporary or indefinite) of sawmills and pulp mills, and thus workforce reductions. “And the fibre-supply crisis has continued to worsen, and . . . the industry is in far worse condition than ever before.” Elstone’s basic message: “Government has been busy designing change rather than figuring out solutions and moving forward. …Kim Haakstad, CEO of the BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI) echoes the analysis “There’s been a significant amount of change that hasn’t settled itself into the system, and there’s been no look at what regulatory efficiency can be achieved to make processes clearer, more transparent, and more accountable.”
The District of Vanderhoof, says it is now feeling the full financial impacts of Canfor’s 2024 Plateau sawmill closure and is facing a substantial loss of tax revenue for 2026. Canfor closed its sawmills in both Vanderhoof and Fort St. John, B.C., in December of 2024 citing “increasing regulatory complexity, high operating costs and the inability to reliably access economically viable timber.” Kevin Moutray is the mayor of The District of Vanderhoof, says the closure will create a loss of $580,000 in tax revenue equivalent to 11 per cent of its tax base. …Recent closures include the West Fraser’s sawmill in 100 Mile House and Domtar’s permanent closing of its plump mill in Crofton on Vancouver Island. “It’s difficult and sometimes action only happens in a crisis even though you sort of, can see some of it coming,” said Kurt Niquidet, B.C. Lumber Trade Council president and B.C. Council of Forest Industries chief economist.
The Municipality of North Cowichan said it is hoping to reopen the Bridging to Retirement Program and lower the eligible age to increase support for workers affected by the Crofton mill closure. Mayor Rob Douglas said he has asked the premier and the minister of forests to work with the federal government to reinstate the program, which was launched in 2021. He said the program is aimed at workers over 55 who do not “relish the idea” of retraining for new careers. “We recognize workers who are in their 50s and 60s are in a tough spot and are able to access pensions,” Douglas said. “For obvious reasons some aren’t too excited about going back and getting retrained to work in a whole different field.” …Douglas said the decision rests with the province and there is no definitive timeline for when workers or the municipality could see results.
SUNDRE, Alberta – The general manager of what will soon become the former West Fraser – Sundre Forest Products said there will be no impact on staff or operations amid a corporate reorganizing. According to a December letter to vendors, West Fraser is “undertaking an internal corporate reorganization, whereby Blue Ridge Lumber, Spray Lake Sawmills, Crowsnest Forest Products, Sundre Forest Products, and Manning Forest Products will be amalgamated into one company and renamed West Fraser Alberta Wood Products Ltd.” The new entity is to remain a wholly-owned subsidiary of West Fraser Mills Ltd., and the amalgamation and rebranding will be effective as of end of day on Dec. 31. “There’s zero impact to operations,” said Jason Foote. “This restructure is administrative”.
WASHINGTON — A mandatory review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico-Agreement on trade kicks into high gear this year as US President Trump continues his campaign to realign global trade and poach key industries from America’s closest neighbours. …Since the president’s return to the White House, however, confidence in CUSMA’s future has waned. Trade with Canada may not be front of mind for Trump, said Fen Osler Hampson, a professor of international affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa and co-chair of the Expert Group on Canada-U.S. Relations. It’s more like the “proverbial iceberg,” he said. “It’s what you don’t see that matters. And that’s the kind of hidden economic wiring of a very deep and highly interdependent relationship.” …Trump has complained repeatedly about long-standing irritants in the United States’ trade relationship with Canada — the supply management system for dairy products, the alleged subsidization of the softwood lumber sector, other non-tariff barriers.
MACKENZIE COUNTY, Alberta — An agreement with Calgary-based PowerWood Canada Corp. will bring two new wood pellet manufacturing facilities to the Mackenzie County region in Northern Alberta, Canada. Josh Knelsen, Mackenzie County Reeve, announced Dec. 23 the agreement. “This is a leading-edge, first-of-its-kind project in Canada that turns wildfire-damaged wood into clean energy and helps reduce reliance on coal,” said Knelsen. The two facilities represent the potential for up to 300 direct jobs,” with many more across forestry, construction, transportation, and local businesses. …Construction on two sites is expected to begin by mid-2026. …The facilities will also see the introduction of Canada’s first steam explosion pellet production process – developed by leading industrial systems engineers Valmet and capable of producing black wood biofuel pellets with 94% less carbon release than coal. …PowerWood Canada plans to open a second Alberta plant and has developed expansion plans for further plants in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
The Scierie St-Elzéar in Quebec, Canada, isn’t just a lumber mill; it’s a glimpse into the future of forestry. A $32.7 million investment in modernization, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, is transforming the 80-year-old cooperative into a highly efficient, technologically advanced operation. …The core driver behind this shift is a growing labor shortage. …The St-Elzéar mill has reduced the number of personnel needed for planing operations from 16 to 8, while tripling productivity and boosting product quality by nearly 50%. This isn’t about replacing workers; it’s about shifting their roles. …The integration of AI isn’t limited to a single process. At Scierie St-Elzéar, AI-powered systems now identify wood species, allowing for the creation of more homogenous lumber batches for drying – a critical step in quality control. 
Lumber futures slid below $530 per thousand board feet, testing the lowest levels since October 2024, as weak near-term demand collided with abundant and re-emerging supply. Homebuilding activity remains subdued and mortgage borrowing costs are still elevated, restraining new starts and repair and remodel demand, while US housing starts have softened and 30-year mortgage rates entered January little changed near the mid-6% range. At the same time structural supply pressures are returning, with several panel and OSB mills ramping up or preparing to add capacity and shifts in North American output seeing Canadian curtailments largely offset by higher production in the US South, keeping physical availability ample and capping any upside. In the meantime, inventory and futures market activity increased over the holiday period, amplifying downside moves when buyers stayed sidelined after year-end and seasonal restocking remained muted. [END]
If we’ve reached the point where we’re fretting over barnacles being knocked off by drift logs, perhaps we’ve run out of real crises. A recent University of Victoria study warns that wandering logs — nature’s most passive travellers — are scraping B.C.’s intertidal ecosystems into oblivion. …I mean no disrespect to my academic descendants at UVic — my alma mater — but I can’t help recalling a time when a scientist would distinguish between data and drama. Anyone raised on this coast knows those “thundering” drift logs are as much a fixture of our marine landscape as kelp, rockweed, and yes, barnacles themselves. …Here lies the problem with this kind of “drive-by ecology.” A barnacle count taken on a single day, at a single beach, photographed from orbit, becomes a sweeping “coast-wide phenomenon.” Probability alone tells us that the fraction of shoreline simultaneously blanketed and agitated by free logs — especially those resting on sand — is marginal.
Mark Bryson received a call early on Friday morning stating that a massive equipment fire was burning along the Caycuse Main logging road, approximately an hour and 15 minutes outside of Lake Cowichan. Three machines were destroyed, with Bryson saying that there are millions of dollars in damages. …Lake Cowichan RCMP and the Lake Cowichan Fire Department were called to the scene and RCMP confirmed they are investigating the incident. However, Bryson said he doesn’t think investigators have to look too far. He said the logging equipment was stationed 30 minutes down the road from where heavy protests are taking place at Tree Farm License 44, where Tsawak-qin Forestry Limited Partnership (C̕awak ʔqin Forestry) operates a timberlands business. …Global News went to the protester camp, but no one there was authorized to comment on the matter and we did not receive a response to email requests.
In 2025, the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) worked tirelessly with people and communities to fight wildfires and build community resilience throughout the province. “We’re coming off our second-worst wildfire season in Canadian history,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests. “From technology to equipment and training, all to protect people and communities, the BC Wildfire Service has shown us that they are a global leader in wildfire work. Thanks to the dedicated members working tirelessly to fight the threat of wildfire. In 2026, we will raise the bar even higher. …Since April 1, 2025, more than 1,350 wildfires burned an estimated 886,360 hectares of land in B.C. The 2025 season compared to the past five years:
VICTORIA — The BC government says cutting red tape has allowed provincial pulp mills to more than double their use of timber salvaged from forest fires. The Ministry of Forests says in a statement that mills processed more than one million cubic metres of wildfire chips in 2024-25, up from 500,000 cubic metres in 2023, and representing about seven per cent of all processed wood. Forests Minister Ravi Parmar says that BC can’t let anything go to waste, including logs that have been burned in wildfires.” The statement says pulp mills rarely accepted burned timber before 2022, but both government and industry recognized the opportunity of turning wildfire-affected fibre into wood chips. It says that faster permitting and stronger partnerships between government and industry made it even easier to use that type of timber and the work will continue in 2026.
The BC Conservative leader fostered fear and falsehoods in his 
My grandfather, Gordon Gibson Jr., taught me to speak up when I see injustice in the world, and I am seeing it now. I am absolutely furious regarding Premier Eby’s plans to destroy old-growth and primary forests. They are the lungs of our atmosphere, and cutting them down is not only an attack on our future, it’s anti-Canadian. The only possible benefit to the logging would be to make a few people richer, most of whom are not Canadian, and those people do not care about the longevity of our species. We are facing a major extinction event, at the end of which the planet will not be able to support human life. I ask the province to listen to the science, and to care about the people who you are tasked with caring for. Care about our futures, and our dreams. …Stop the deforestation of old growth, and save the lungs of our planet.
QUEBEC — A rare old-growth forest in Quebec’s Mauricie region is at the centre of a growing conflict between conservation advocates and the provincial government, after forestry roadwork was authorized in an area currently under review for protected status. The forest, known as the Grandbois Lakes forest, is located near Sainte-Thècle, in the Mékinac Regional County Municipality, northeast of Shawinigan. Composed largely of red spruce trees, the ecosystem is considered one of the last intact forests of its kind in southern Quebec. Despite its ecological value, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests has approved the construction of a winter road through part of the forest — a step that could lead to logging in the coming months. The roadwork is slated to be carried out by the forestry company Forex Langlois. …Environmental groups and local residents gathered to oppose what they say is a threat to an irreplaceable ecosystem.