Region Archives: Canada

Business & Politics

‘Razor’s edge of survival:’ B.C. Premier David Eby decries increasing softwood tariffs

By Ashley Joannou
The Canadian Press in the Vancouver Sun
October 14, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

David Eby

BC’s softwood industry is facing an “existential threat” from increasing U.S. tariffs that needs to be treated with the same urgency by the federal government as threats to Canadian steel and auto jobs, B.C. Premier David Eby says. Eby held a news conference Tuesday, surrounded by union and industry representatives on the same day an additional 10% duty came into effect. …“When auto parts makers, … when steelworkers in Ontario are in trouble it’s treated as a national emergency, and rightly so. These are foundational industries for Ontario, for Canada,” Eby said. “What we’re asking for today is that same respect, that same concern, that same sense of emergency, is shared for the forest sector in this country.” …“I’m afraid some will not survive the current state of affairs. Mill workers, loggers, truckers, contractors and all the jobs dependent on an active forestry industry are all under imminent threat.”

In related coverage:

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‘We have to scratch, claw and fight to make sure we survive’: CEO of business hit by lumber tariffs

CTV News
October 14, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States
 

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Why higher tariffs on Canadian lumber may not be enough to stimulate long-term investments in US forestry

By Andrew Muhammad & Adam Taylor, University of Tennessee
The Conversation US
October 15, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

The US imports about 40% of the softwood lumber the nation uses each year, more than 80% of that from Canada. President Trump says that the US has the capacity to meet 95% of softwood lumber demand and directed federal officials to update policies and regulatory guidelines to expand domestic timber harvesting and curb the arrival of foreign lumber. …As researchers studying the forestry sector and international trade, we recognize that the US has ample forest resources. But replacing imports with domestic lumber isn’t as simple as it sounds. There are differences in tree species and quality, and U.S. lumber often comes at a higher cost, even with tariffs on imports. Challenges like limited labor and manufacturing capacity require long-term investments, which temporary tariffs and uncertain trade policies often fail to encourage. In addition, the amount of lumber imported tends to mirror the boom-and-bust cycles of housing construction, a dynamic that tariffs alone are unlikely to change.

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US Lumber Coalition re-ups support for Trump’s tariffs, says NAHB peddles false narrative on housing affordability

By Zoltan van Heyningen
The US Lumber Coalition
October 14, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

WASHINGTON, D.C. – “The U.S. Lumber Coalition applauds President Trump’s imposition of an additional 10 percent tariff against unfairly traded lumber imports.  “Predictably, the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) is attacking President Trump’s decisive and pivotal trade law enforcement actions by continuing to peddle the false narrative that holding Canada to account for its ever-increasing and egregious unfair trade practices will somehow exacerbate the problem of U.S. housing affordability,” stated Zoltan van Heyningen of the U.S. Lumber Coalition. “What NAHB won’t point out is that lumber prices have declined since antidumping and countervailing duties increased to 35.16%… and especially not that their own profit margins in recent years have increased from 11% to almost 16%,” added van Heyningen….Enforcing the U.S. trade laws helps increase the U.S. supply of lumber to build American homes, all without impacting the cost of a new home, as demonstrated by data from the NAHB and Fastmarkets Random Lengths.

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Trump Ramps Up Trade War as New Tariffs on Lumber and Furniture Take Effect

By Ana Swanson and Sydney Ember
The New York Times
October 14, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

President Trump ushered in new tariffs on imported furniture, kitchen cabinets and lumber on Tuesday, adding a fresh round of levies as he once again threatened to expand his trade war with China. Tariffs ranging from 10% to 50% on foreign wood products and furniture snapped into effect just after midnight. The tariffs are meant to encourage more domestic logging and furniture manufacturing. But critics say that the levies will raise prices for American consumers and could slow industries including home building that rely on materials from abroad. …Critics have called it a stretch to issue the furniture and lumber tariffs under the national-security-related law. …Some American manufacturers lobbied for the tariffs. …Some economists expect the higher price of lumber, along with home furnishings, will slow the pace of home building. That could set back the Trump administration’s goals of improving a weak housing market. [to assess the full story a NY Times subscription is required]

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Trump’s Lumber Tariffs Take Hold, Threatening to Hike Home Costs

By Jennifer A Dlouhy
Bloomberg News
October 14, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

The US is now collecting tariffs on imported timber, lumber, kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities and upholstered furniture, duties that threaten to raise the cost of renovations and deter new home purchases. …Trump described his wood and furniture tariffs as helping to “strengthen supply chains… and increase domestic capacity utilization for wood products.” Yet economists and homebuilders have warned they also could create obstacles to another of Trump’s goals: boosting homebuilding and sales. Trump has for months cajoled Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to lower rates in part to boost home affordability, but critics say the new tariffs could more than offset any gains from lower mortgage and lending costs. Roughly 7% of all goods used in new residential construction come from foreign suppliers, according to the NAHB. Even without new import taxes, the group has said the cost of building materials has risen by 34% since Dec. 2020. [to access the full story a Bloomberg subscription is required]

Related in the Associated Free Press: Trump tariffs on timber, furniture take effect

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Forest Sector Faces 45% Tariffs – Urgent Action Required

Forest Products Association of Canada
October 14, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) is extremely frustrated and deeply concerned by the U.S. government’s decision to impose Section 232 tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber and derivative products. These unjustified measures, which take effect today, threaten the livelihoods of more than 200,000 Canadians and the stability of hundreds of towns and cities that rely on a strong forest sector. “For eight years, forest workers and communities across Canada have borne the brunt of increasing duties—now exceeding 45 percent with the addition of these new tariffs,” said Derek Nighbor, President and CEO of FPAC. “These are punitive, protectionist measures with no basis in fact. They ignore decades of evidence that Canadian lumber strengthens, rather than threatens, U.S. national security and economic resilience.” Targeting responsibly managed, sustainably sourced Canadian wood products under the pretense of national security is both unjustified and deeply damaging. These actions undermine one of the most integrated, mutually beneficial trade relationships in the world, increasing costs for American families and homebuilders while jeopardising Canadian mills and workers.

Enough is enough.

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Lumber industry ‘deeply disappointed’ by Mark Carney’s silence on Donald Trump’s tariffs

By Tonda MacCharles, Ottawa Bureau Chief
Toronto Star
October 9, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

Luc Thériault

OTTAWA — The chummy Washington trip that saw Mark Carney dine with Vice President JD Vance and his family … left Canadian lumber representatives fuming. They say Donald Trump’s tariffs are crushing them yet didn’t even warrant a mention in the Oval Office. …Luc Theriault, co-chair of the Canadian Lumber Trade Alliance, said that the Carney government has paid “lip service” to the need to resolve lumber tariffs in recent months, while telling the industry to co-ordinate their positions and form a common front. But in Washington Tuesday, the prime minister was publicly silent on 35-per-cent lumber tariffs that are set to rise to 45 per cent next week and which Theriault says are a blow to the sector. “We’re deeply disappointed,” Theriault said. …He said the American lumber lobby is a powerful influence in Washington, but there are substantive arguments to reject Trump’s claim that America does not need Canadian wood products.

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Should B.C. retaliate against U.S. duties on softwood lumber with a levy on U.S. coal moving through B.C. ports?

Castanet
October 14, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Ward Stamer

British Columbia’s Opposition Leader John Rustad and forestry critic Ward Stamer say B.C. should “get tougher” to fight back against increasing U.S. tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber. …In a joint statement, Rustad and Stamer said the forestry sector has been in decline for eights years under the NDP and the province could be doing more in B.C. to make more wood available, fix the cost structure and “put the feet back under” the sector. The MLAs said the province needs to “get tougher” to deal with Trump, starting with a levy on U.S. thermal coal that moves through B.C. ports. “If that’s not enough, those shipments should be outright banned to put real pressure on the U.S. and bring them to the table,” the statement reads. Stamer said the new tariffs will be “the final blow” to forestry workers and communities that have been “paying the price” for years.

Related coverage:

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Statement from British Columbia’s Forest Sector

Council of Forest Industries
October 14, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West

Vancouver, BC The BC forest sector calls on the Government of Canada to bring the same urgency to the lumber file as it has to steel, aluminum, and energy. Our industry is facing an unprecedented period of challenge. On top of the existing 35% softwood lumber duties, the United States has now imposed an additional 10% tariff—wrongly claiming that Canadian lumber and forest products represent a national security threat. These unwarranted and unjustified trade actions are having devastating impacts and the lack of tangible progress for forest sector workers and communities is deeply concerning. …We cannot continue to manage the decline of this foundational industry. We must focus on rebuilding competitiveness, driving innovation, and strengthening the entire value chain. Forestry remains a cornerstone of the provincial and national economy—a major project that can deliver tangible results now, if given the necessary attention and support.

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Registration for the TLA 81st Annual TLA Convention + Trade Show is now OPEN!

BC Truck Loggers Association
October 15, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West

The TLA welcomes delegates back to the 81st Annual Convention + Trade Show. This years theme is Fostering Collaboration & Partnerships. Join us January 14-16, 2026, at the Bayshore Hotel in Vancouver. The power of working together is the key to building a stronger, more sustainable forestry sector. Across BC’s forest industry—from contractors and licensees to government, Indigenous communities, and suppliers—collaboration opens the door to innovation, shared success, and long-term growth. In a time of change and challenges, partnership is more than a strategy; it’s a foundation for progress. By strengthening relationships and aligning our efforts, we move forward with greater unity, purpose, and confidence—shaping a future that reflects the best of what we can achieve together. This year’s event offers TLA members and non-members an all-inclusive registration pass, granting access to all sessions and events throughout the convention. Tickets to Suppliers Night and Lunch on the Trade Show Floor can be purchased on an individual basis. 

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B.C. government experts including engineers, foresters expand strike provincewide

By Brenna Owen
Canadian Press in Business in Vancouver
October 9, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

©Facebook

Two unions representing British Columbia professionals and public service workers escalated their weeks-long job action on Thursday to include about 26,000 staff across more than 20 ministries and provincial Crown corporations and agencies. The Professional Employees Association, whose members include engineers, foresters and geoscientists, said more than 1,000 staff from the health, mining, transportation, resource stewardship and attorney general ministries are on strike. The association had previously joined job action by the BC General Employees’ Union in its dispute with the province by picketing a number of government offices. The BCGEU also escalated its job action Thursday to include about 25,000 public service workers across 475 work sites. The union said 19 ministries and B.C. Crown corporations were “fully struck” by its job action, including the ministries of finance, citizens’ services, infrastructure, energy and Indigenous relations, as well as the Forest Practices Board, Royal BC Museum and BC Pension Corporation.

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Northeastern Ontario’s ‘world-class sawmills’ under pressure from tariffs, weak U.S. demand

The Timmins Daily Press
October 15, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Ian Dunn

“Timmins and northeastern Ontario have well-established and world-class sawmills,” said Ian Dunn, CEO of the Ontario Forest Industries Association (OFIA). “They are being challenged by the ongoing consolidation and evolution of the pulp and paper sector, weak housing demand in the US, and now 45% market entry costs.” On Oct. 4 federal and provincial governments stepped in with short term funding to prevent the idling of the Kap Paper, the region’s last remaining paper mill in Kapuskasing. The move averted the loss of over 300 direct jobs. …Another reason cited was the declining market for the mill’s products, newsprint and bulk paper for books. Industry has been advising governments at all levels to anticipate and prepare for what they say is a crisis. …“The US has reached the absurd conclusion that upholstered furniture and softwood lumber represent a national security threat to the most powerful military on earth,” Dunn said.

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Finance & Economics

Canada’s new home construction up 14% in September from previous month

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
October 16, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada

The six-month trend in housing starts increased (4.1%) in September (277,147 units), according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Actual housing starts were up 19% year-over-year in centres with a population of 10,000 or greater, with 22,375 units recorded in September, compared to 18,806 units in September 2024. The year-to-date total was 178,033, up 5% from the same period in 2024. The total monthly SAAR of housing starts for all areas in Canada was up 14% in September (279,234 units) compared to August (244,543 units). “The six-month trend in housing starts was pushed higher in September, driven by significantly higher monthly starts in Ontario, Québec, and the Prairie provinces. Notably, Montréal and Toronto were responsible for more than a quarter of the total monthly starts nationally, primarily due to increased rental apartments starts,” said Tania Bourassa-Ochoa, CMHC’s Deputy Chief Economist.

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Lumber Futures Price Climbs as Trump’s 10% Tariff Takes Effect

By Ryan Dezember
The Wall Street Journal
October 14, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

Lumber futures have risen about 19% from a low hit in early September, driven by the production cuts, hopes that declining interest rates will revive the housing market and Trump’s import tax. The 10% levy is on top of steep duties on Canadian lumber, which are adjusted annually in a heavily litigated process that is the result of a decades-long trade dispute. Those antidumping and countervailing duties rose in August to about 35% for most Canadian producers, up from roughly 15%. Canada’s sawmills are by far the largest source of softwood lumber from beyond U.S. borders, fulfilling about 24% of domestic consumption last year. Other significant importers of softwood lumber, the type used to frame houses, include Brazil and European countries such as Germany and Sweden. Homebuilders argue that import taxes will raise construction costs. U.S. lumber producers and timberland owners, however, urged Trump to enact a tariff.

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Lumber Futures Rise Amid Looming Tariffs

Trading Economics
October 13, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

Lumber futures rose past $610 per thousand board feet in mid-October, approaching monthly highs as markets priced in tighter near-term supply and looming trade restrictions. Under newly announced US Section 232 tariffs that take effect on October 14th, imported softwood lumber will face a 10% duty and finished wood goods such as cabinets and furniture will face higher levies, prompting importers to front-load purchases and draw down inventories. Domestic output is also constrained as sawmills run cautiously after years of underinvestment, logging curbs in sensitive regions and slow capacity restarts have limited production. The cost and delay of switching suppliers is material given that Canadian lumber, which supplies much of US demand, already carries elevated antidumping and countervailing duties, intensifying the supply squeeze.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Building Canadian homes with Canadian wood

By Derek Nighbor, president & CEO, FPAC
National Post
October 15, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada

Canada is facing a housing crisis of historic proportions. With affordability slipping out of reach for millions and supply lagging far behind demand, we need bold, scalable and sustainable solutions. The federal government’s Build Canada Homes initiative is a promising start and an opportunity to scale up the use of Canadian wood in building construction.  Wood-based modern methods of construction … offers unmatched speed, quality and sustainability. …Traditional construction is slow, expensive and carbon intensive. Wood-based modern methods of construction flips that model on its head. …Mass timber stores carbon rather than emitting it and it’s easier to work with… A streamlined national approvals system and a library of pre-approved designs would immediately reduce permitting and design timelines. …Canadian forestry sees a path forward to transformation and growth. That path must be anchored in a new partnership with the federal government…

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Canada Wood Market Insights – October 2025

The Canada Wood Group
October 14, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada

The October newsletter includes these headlines and more:

  • The Woodrise 2025 in Vancouver marked another milestone for global mass timber collaboration — and Canada Wood was proud to lead a delegation of architects, engineers, professors, and developers from China and Korea to explore the latest innovations shaping the future of sustainable construction.
  • Taisei Corporation has unveiled its new T-WOOD® Truss Floor, a hybrid system that combines light-frame trusses made from Canadian SPF lumber with CLT panels to achieve spans of up to 14 m. 
  • To promote 4-story wooden buildings in Japan, HOWTEC has published a new manual showcasing five exemplary construction methods — including a panelized light-frame system jointly developed by Canada Wood Japan and the Japan 2×4 Home Builders Association.
  • Canada Wood Japan and the Japan 2×4 Home Builders Association hosted Vancouver architect Robert Salikan for a seminar on B.C.’s midrise wood construction. 

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Mass-timber building adds affordable, energy-efficient homes in Kelowna

By Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs
Government of British Columbia
October 15, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada West

More families, seniors and people living with disabilities now have affordable, energy-efficient homes in Kelowna with the opening of Capstone, adding 122 rental homes to the Apple Valley community. “This is about providing people a better place to live,” said Christine Boyle, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs. “These new homes at Capstone will make life more affordable for people, and with our partners we are helping build a more sustainable, vibrant and cleaner future for our growing community.” Capstone, at 2155 Mayer Rd., is the final building in the Apple Valley development. It’s a nine-storey building built out of mass timber, which has a lower carbon footprint than other traditional building methods. 

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Intake 4 projects announced for the Mass Timber Demonstration Program

naturally:wood
October 10, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada West

Ronald McDonald House, BC-Yukon

Indigenous Affordable Housing Project

Nexus

Cube 2.0 Climbing Gym

The Mass Timber Demonstration Program (MTDP) supports select mass timber and mass timber hybrid buildings throughout the province. The latest round of funding, the 4th intake of projects, includes two-multi-family structures, an office building and a climbing gym. The MTDP helps British Columbia become a province that is more inclusive, resilient and innovative in the design, engineering, construction and product manufacturing sectors. It achieves this by providing funding for incremental costs in the design and construction of buildings that showcase emerging or new mass timber and mass timber hybrid building systems and construction processes, and sharing project learnings with the sector.

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B.C. construction sector has a plastics problem, says sustainability firm

By Jami Makan
The Victoria Times Colonist
October 8, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Construction plastics are a major source of plastic waste in the province, and they urgently need to be measured, tracked and upcycled, says a B.C. organization that promotes sustainable built environments. Canada’s Federal Plastics Registry is expanding in 2026 to include construction plastics, but industry efforts are already underway to gather data and pilot new ways of reducing and reusing them, said Vancouver-based Light House. Construction plastics include packaging; wrapping for lumber and mass timber products; film that goes around pallets.  A new study by Light House is “the first national effort” to gather and compile data about construction plastics in Canada, in order to lay a foundation for tackling the problem. …The case studies include the new PNE Amphitheatre, a bridge, a community centre and library, a school and a multi-unit residential building—“projects that really represent the diverse range of construction that happens,” Yaron said.

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Forestry

Canadian Forest Owners supports Université Laval researcher who is using innovation to help fight climate change

Canadian Forest Owners
October 15, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

OTTAWA, ON — Canadian Forest Owners (CFO) is proud to award its $15,000 Peter deMarsh Memorial Bursary to Université Laval researcher Sanjoy Roy whose boreal forest research is aimed at increasing carbon storage while providing wood to meet Canada’s material and energy needs. Roy’s forest modeling work will provide an important decision-making and support tool for CFO members because it addresses sustainable forest management and timber production while ensuring ecosystem resilience in our changing climate. “Importantly, by improving the tools currently available to small forest landowners, Roy’s results will inform both public forest planning and private woodlot management, helping address the technical and policy barriers they face,” comments Andrew de Vries, Chief Executive Officer, CFO. Roy’s research simulates long-term, climate-adaptive silviculture in heterogeneous, mixed-species forests in Quebec.

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Canada is considering a national wildfire agency. Kim Connors says it should focus elsewhere

By Matthew McClearn
The Globe and Mail
October 12, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Kim Connors

As Canada suffered one of the most destructive fire seasons in its history, Eleanor Olszewski, the federal emergency management minister, floated the idea of creating a federal agency to co-ordinate the country’s response to natural disasters, including wildfire. …Kim Connors, who retired this year as executive director of the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, spent more than four decades fighting wildfires, including as director of provincial wildfire programs in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan. He spoke to The Globe and Mail about why he opposes Ms. Olszewski’s proposal, and why Canadians should start preparing now for next year’s fire season. …We really need to focus on the mitigation side and building true whole-of-society programs that are strong in practice, not just in rhetoric. …Ottawa needs to establish long-term funding to support FireSmart Canada in reaching all provinces and territories and within the national parks. [A subscription to the Globe and Mail is required for full story access]

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West Fraser’s Highwood River permit acquisition sparks debate

By Izaiah Louis Reyes
The Cochrane Eagle
October 15, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Environmental advocates and industry officials are divided over whether new logging plans in the Upper Highwood River watershed will provide sufficient protection for the threatened Bull Trout population. West Fraser Cochrane recently obtained Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) authorization under the Fisheries Act and sections 73 and 74 of the Species at Risk Act (SARA) to install 14 temporary crossings for timber harvesting. The company says it is balancing responsible resource use with habitat conservation. “We understand how important it is to protect bull trout and Westslope cutthroat trout habitat in the Highwood– and share that priority,” said West Fraser Cochrane. “…we will monitor conditions before and after harvest to help inform responsible stewardship.” …Both environmental advocates and West Fraser agree on one point: safeguarding the Bull Trout and its habitat is a critical challenge. The question is whether the mitigation steps currently underway will prove sufficient to ensure the species’ long-term survival.

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Northern Saskatchewan MLA says forestry industry profits “up in smoke”

By Michael Joel-Hansen
The Saskatoon StarPhoenix
October 15, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Saskatchewan NDP’s critic for forestry is calling on the province to provide support to help forests in the north recover from this summer’s destructive wildfire season. Cumberland MLA Jordan McPhail said more than 2.9 million hectares of forest was destroyed by fire over the summer, and this is having an impact on the forestry sector. “They’re literally seeing future profits go up in smoke,” he said. The northern Saskatchewan MLA said the provincial government can play a positive role by investing in reforestation work. McPhail said provincial regulations dictate that forestry companies replant two trees for every single tree they take. These dictates do not apply in instances where trees are destroyed by fires. …The Government of Saskatchewan said the province is committed to doubling growth in the forestry sector and is prepared to support the industry to do this.

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Parks Canada logging near Banff townsite to reduce wildfire threat

By Cathy Ellis
The Rocky Mountain Outlook
October 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

BANFF – A large swath of land will be logged at the base of Sulphur Mountain this winter to help further protect the Banff townsite from a future runaway wildfire similar to one that destroyed part of Jasper last year. As part of Parks Canada’s ongoing work to reduce the threat of wildfire to the townsite, the plan calls for 125 hectares to be logged and thinned in the Spray and Middle Springs area over the next two winters, including about 79 ha this winter. The entire project – which aims to slow the spread of an approaching wildfire and aid in suppression efforts to protect the Banff townsite – is slated to begin by the end of November and wrap up by spring 2027. …The Town of Banff has directed almost $1.5 million to be spent in 2025 wildfire mitigation work in 2025 within the four-km2 townsite.

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Maple Ridge’s research forest receives national accolades

By Rois Chand
Maple Ridge News
October 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Maple Ridge’s greenery is being recognized and awarded on a national scale. Malcolm Knapp Research Forest is one of two forests operated by the University of B.C. (UBC) that was recently acknowledged with a Canadian Institute of Forestry – Canadian Forest Management Group Achievement Award. …The award recognizes outstanding achievements by teams of managers in the field of natural resource management in Canada, and the local forest was praised for its “pivotal role” in advancing forest education, research, and management across B.C. and beyond, explained Helene Marcoux, local research forest director who was on hand for the recent awards presentation. …Through the coordination of more than 1,400 research projects and the delivery of experiential learning programs to thousands of students and professionals, the research forests have significantly shaped forest policy, sustainable management practices, and public understanding of forestry, said presenters of the national awards.

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‘It’s not even close to equitable’: B.C. First Nations push to reshape forestry

By Zoë Yunker
The Narwhal
October 15, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

At the Kelsey Bay log sort near the town of Sayward, B.C., pulverized cedar bark [is] evidence of the millions of trees that departed from here, never to return. “We’ve seen our territories decimated,” Wei Wai Kum Chief Christopher Roberts explains. Behind him, five freshly cut, old-growth cedars line the warming pavement. These trees, Roberts says, help explain why the nation is here today. …nations are claiming sizable stakes in an industry that has long excluded them. Wei Wai Kum is one of four First Nations to purchase a $36-million stake in La-kwa sa mukw Forestry Partnership, a joint operation with logging company Western Forest Products Ltd. Their partnership came after companies agreed to leave canoe-carving trees in their communities. A sign, for Roberts, that the industry was willing to change. …Now … First Nations’ tenure opportunities have exploded as B.C.’s biggest forest companies sell off major parts of their long-held licences. 

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Six UBC Forestry Faculty receive Canada Foundation for Innovation John R. Evans Leaders Fund awards

By The Faculty of Forestry
University of British Columbia
October 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Congratulations to six UBC Forestry faculty members who have received the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF) awards to advance their innovative research programs. The John R. Evans Leaders Fund, administered by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, supports universities in attracting and retaining top researchers by funding state-of-the-art laboratories, equipment, and facilities. These investments strengthen Canada’s research ecosystem and enable groundbreaking discoveries that benefit society.

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Experts talk climate change, cultural burning, cooperation at Wildfire Resilience Consortium of Canada conference

By Josh Dawson
Castanet
October 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

KAMLOOPS, BC — The impacts of climate change on wildland fires, cultural burning practices and inter-government cooperation are areas of research and interest among experts gathered by the newly-formed Wildfire Resilience Consortium of Canada. The national consortium was announced in July and received $11.7 million in funding over four years from Natural Resources Canada through the Wildfire Resilient Futures Initiative. Delegates from across Canada met for the first time on Thompson Rivers University’s campus last week for a three-day conference, which aimed to facilitate discussion, networking, and to pool knowledge. Rapid-fire presentations saw recipients of NRCan’s Building and Mobilize Foundational Wildland Fire Knowledge program speak about their projects and research studies. …Many of the presenters spoke of the increasing severity of wildfires, highlighting recent record-breaking fire seasons. University of Northern B.C. professor Che Elkin said climate change is having an impact on forest ecosystems, affecting individual tree growth and mortality.

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‘Nothing to harvest’: After unprecedented wildfires, the forestry industry is forced to adapt

By Julia-Simone Rutgers
The Narwhal
October 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Wildfire is part of the natural lifecycle of a forest; but as Manitoba continues to battle the embers of its most devastating fire season in more than 30 years, its leaders are starting to consider a more active role in managing this critical resource to stave off the flames. In early October, as more than 70 wildland fires still smouldered across the province, Premier Wab Kinew and a handful of cabinet ministers released Manitoba’s first all-encompassing plan to slash carbon emissions in the next 25 years. Among the promised initiatives was a commitment to “co-develop a wildfire prevention and preparation approach that reflects Indigenous leadership, land-based knowledge and nature-based solutions” — a first hint at how the provincial government plans to respond to the growing threat of wildfire. “We just came out of the worst wildfire season in living memory,” Environment and Climate Change Minister Mike Moyes said at a press conference for the new strategy this week.

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Clearwater society opens donation floodgates with charitable status

By Brendan Shykora
100 Mile Free Press
October 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

The Wells Gray Community Forest Society is in position to receive funds from more sources, and spread those funds throughout the region, now that it has been officially designated as a charitable organization. The Clearwater-based society received the designation by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Aug. 21. As a charitable organization, it can continue to support regional organizations by funding and undertaking charitable activities. The society now also has the ability to issue tax receipts for donations received. It is expected that the ability to issue tax receipts will increase the amount of donations received, which could potentially result in more funding available to support social and economic endeavours.

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Nature Conservancy of Canada buys Elk Valley logging lands

By Gillian Francis
The Free Press
October 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has purchased 37,000 hectares of land in the Elk Valley from Doman Building Materials Group Ltd., in one of the largest private land contributions in the country. The sale of the land closed on Sept. 29, in phase two of an acquisition for 45,000 hectares of land in the Elk Valley and surrounding area. “It’s a defining moment for nature in Canada, let alone in British Columbia,” said NCC Canadian Rockies program director Richard Klafki. …The project is the result of 20 years of effort to conserve ecologically important land in the region. …Doman, a North American building materials supplier with a Canadian office based out of Vancouver, owned the land for nine years for lumber harvesting operations before selling it to NCC. According to a news release, the company’s forestry management efforts saw 10 million new seedling planted on to the land. 

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‘Timber Titans’ Logger Boss Sig Kemmler on Why The Weather Channel’s Hit Resonates

By Scott Fishman
TV Insider
October 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Sig Kemmler

When watching Timber Titans, one thing is evident. Logging isn’t for the faint of heart. The series follows companies based in British Columbia as they battle the elements and merciless terrain in their efforts to harvest this most vital of resources. They may all share a deep rooted passion for one the region’s oldest professions, but each brings a different approach and backstories to the job. Sig Kemmler, co-owner and project manager of Integrated Operations Group, has been in the game for almost half a century. His company stands out in the industry with a proven track record built on sustainable logging and forest maintenance. This unique heli-logging operation works the western coast of Vancouver Island salvaging dead and downed timbers in the most remote locations. …Kemmler checked in from a boat anchored off Catalina Island to reflect on Season 2 and the popular series’ future. 

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Boreal Springboard a boost for Northwestern Ontario forestry

By Sandi Krasowski
The Chronicle Journal
October 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

ONTARIO — The Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre has partnered with the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission (CEDC), the Centre for Research and Innovation in the Bio-Economy (CRIBE), Lakehead University and Confederation College to launch the Boreal Springboard, an innovative initiative aimed at strengthening and diversifying the forestry sector in Northwestern Ontario. Graham Bracken, at the Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre, said the launch comes at a critical time for forestry in the region. …“The trade pressures were really the impetus to focus people’s minds,” Bracken said. “The sector is really integrated, and any threat to protection on the sawmill side weakens the rest of the sector. There’s a real drive to look to trade diversification and try and develop new value-added products that we can access other markets with.” Bracken says these investors will bring skills, technologies, and solutions that can be adapted to strengthen and grow the sector.

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Former premier, family recognized by Woodlot Association of Prince Edward Island

By Jenna Banfield
CBC News
October 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada East

The Woodlot Owners Association of P.E.I. has announced that former premier Pat Binns and his wife, Carol Binns, are the association’s woodlot owners of the year. The pair were described in a release from the association as “an incredible example of stewardship in action” and applauds their efforts to create biodiverse forests. The former premier owns various parts of woodland in Murray River. He, along with a few others created an organization called the Sustainable Forest Alliance, which encourages woodlot owners to grow their woodlots, and helps create plans to guide owners in the future. …The Woodlot Owners Association of P.E.I. encourages proper forest management, sustainable forestry and moving forward in the direction of developing woodlands.

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Community members want land protected amid concerns over clearcutting

By Michael Gorman
CBC News
October 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

NOVA SCOTIA — Mike Lancaster, executive director of the St. Margarets Bay Stewardship Association, has been working to get provincial protection for the proposed Ingram River wilderness area, about 11,000 hectares of Crown land that once belonged to Bowater. Lancaster says part of the proposed area is seeing applications for high-production forestry activity, such as clearcutting. …Lancaster said the proposed wilderness area would include “one of the most, if not the most, ecologically valuable parts of Nova Scotia.” …A spokesperson for the Natural Resources Department said about 4,000 hectares of land in the Ingram River area has been protected as part of the Island Lake Wilderness Area, where no forestry activity is permitted. …“Harvests in this area have gone through the proper reviews and any areas with old-growth forest or species at risk were removed from the harvest plans before we approved them,” Adele Poirier said.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Arctic Bioenergy Summit and Tour

Wood Pellet Association of Canada
October 10, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada

The Arctic Energy Alliance and the Wood Pellet Association of Canada are excited to be hosting the Arctic Bioenergy Summit and Tour—Sustainable Bioenergy for Northern Communities: Reliable. Affordable. Local. in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, January 26-28, 2026. Sponsored by the Government of Northwest Territories and supported by media sponsor Canadian Biomass, this in-person event replaces the 2026 edition of Northwest Territories Biomass Week, which is traditionally held the last week of January. Join us for a full-day tour of biomass installations in Yellowknife, followed by a two-day Summit.

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Health & Safety

Bamfield-area residents’ frustration with road closure grows

By Austin Kelly
Alberni Valley News
October 16, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada West

Since Aug. 11, the Bamfield Main Road has been closed. …When the Mount Underwood wildfire broke out, that road had to be closed because of a blaze raging nearby. …Bamfield-area residents have to travel more than four hours to get to Port Alberni. …Another point of frustration for the people on the other side of the closure is the existence of a logging road owned by Mosaic Forest Management, a section of that road goes around the Bamfield Main Road closure. Harrison said she and a small group of other people drove the road to check it out. …”The Youbou Road is 100 times worse than that little 20-minute bypass road,” claimed resident Sherry Harrison. …The ministry said the road owned by Mosaic is private and public use is up to the discretion of the company, but added those logging roads were not built and are not maintained for public use.

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Forest Fires

BC Wildfire Service reports wildfire activity decrease in northern BC

By Steve Berard
Energetic City
October 10, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

©BCWildfireService

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Wildfire activity so far in 2025 is down compared to the same time last year, according to the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS). The agency has issued a status report for the Prince George Fire Centre as of Thursday, October 9th, which says 340 wildfires have been reported in the region so far in 2025. That’s a significant decrease from 2024, which saw 444 wildfires reported in the same time frame, although it’s still higher than the 10-year average of 308 blazes. The number of hectares burned so far this year is also down to 723,609 after last year saw 803,557 burned by October 9th. However, 2025’s wildfire season has still seen significantly more hectares burned than the 10-year average of 376,039.

 

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