Susan Holt
OTTAWA — New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt said premiers had a “productive” meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday, mainly to discuss the federal budget and progress on tariff talks with the United States. Noting the impact of US tariffs on New Brunswick, Holt told reporters the group spoke about the plight of the softwood lumber industry and Carney indicated a “significant” new package is coming from the federal government. Ontario Premier Doug Ford also hinted that an announcement on steel and softwood lumber will be coming in the next “week or so. …“We talked about the budget, which was positive,” Ford told reporters Monday. “Told him we’re light on the infrastructure but I believe that’s going to be coming, an announcement on steel and softwood lumber that affects Ontario in a big way.” …The virtual meeting Monday morning was the first since U.S. President Donald Trump halted trade talks.
In related news: Former New Brunswick premier says lumber industry crucial for province
Canada’s forestry industry plans to divert a significant share of its wood exports from the US to new international markets. …The aim to send some 1bn board feet to alternative markets underscores how Trump’s tariffs are starting to reshape some global supply chains, although tensions between the US and Canada over wood exports have simmered for more than half a century. …“The US simply needs to fact-check better before they end up with a large shortage of lumber that may cause further housing shortages,” said Rick Doman, chair of FII BC. …Zoltan van Heyningen for the US Lumber Coalition said the American timber industry could replace 1bn board feet of Canadian imports “without batting an eyelid”. …The NAHB says at just 64% of capacity it “will take years” for US domestic lumber production to expand to meet industry demands. …Mike McDonald, a UK-based consultant, acknowledged it would take time to establish confidence among European consumers. [to access the full story a FT subscription is required]
Government has launched Look West, a strategic plan to deliver major projects faster, expand skills training and grow key sectors to strengthen B.C.’s economy, creating good jobs and opportunities for people and businesses, and benefiting all of Canada. “British Columbia can get big things done – which is why our province is vastly overrepresented in the list of major projects Ottawa is fast-tracking,” said Premier David Eby. “This plan sets big goals as we make B.C. the economic powerhouse of Canada to create great jobs and drive prosperity in every corner of the province.” Look West rises to the challenges brought on by U.S. tariffs. The strategy sets a 10-year vision to strengthen B.C.’s economy, including continuing work to speed up permitting and diversify key sectors, so B.C.’s economy is less reliant on the United States.
Members of the management team for West Fraser’s 100 Mile Lumber appeared in front of the District of 100 Mile House Council to answer questions about the permanent closure of their 100 Mile House mill by the end of December. …Mayor Maureen Pinkney began the meeting, noting that the closure is sad news and that she was surprised they were going straight to closure without any curtailment. …Rob Baron, West Fraser’s regional manager of operations, said “The conditions that precipitated the decision to go to permanent closure are really entirely related to long-term viability related to the high cost of saw logs coming to this mill”. …They’re currently getting their shutdown coordinator set up and have resources on site to help their employees through the transition. …Baron said West Fraser doesn’t have any plans for what they’ll be doing with the property in the future, but welcomes anyone interested in the facility to contact them.
EAR FALLS, Ontario — Northerners know what it means to put in an honest day’s work. …But in Ear Falls, that northern way of life is under threat. In October, Interfor announced the indefinite closure of the Ear Falls sawmill. Over 160 jobs have vanished, and the community is left waiting—hoping that leaders in Ottawa and Toronto will step up, restore these jobs, and fight for the future of Ear Falls. But Ear Falls did not just stand by, they united. Workers, families, municipal leaders, Unifor, and MPP Sol Mamakwa stood shoulder to shoulder to demand action. …But the response from Premier Ford and Prime Minster Carney? Deafening silence. The indefinite closure of Ear Falls’ sawmill, and the silence from Conservative and Liberal governments lay bare the legacy of under-development, under-investment, and under-representation that holds Northerners back.
A decision to cut a tree-planting in the federal budget was met with disappointment by seedling producers. The Canadian Tree Nursery Association represents more than 95 per cent of Canada’s forest restoration seedling producers. The federal government decided to cut short the Two Billion Trees (2BT) Program, saving an estimated $200 million over four years. CTNA executive director Rob Keen said the decision would threaten the long-term environmental recovery of Canada’s forests and jeopardize the forest restoration sector. “I think the whole program was just starting to get some good momentum,” Keen said. …Keen said about 600 million trees are planted each year by the forestry industry. “So, really there was a very significant increase in overall tree planting in Canada,” he said. “And then, I guess in the budget … the government decided, ‘OK, we’re done.’ ”
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.2% on a year-over-year basis in October, down from a 2.4% increase in September. The all-items CPI decelerated largely due to gasoline prices, which fell at a faster pace year over year in October (-9.4%) compared with September (-4.1%). Excluding gasoline, the CPI rose 2.6% in October, matching the increase in September. …The CPI rose 0.2% month over month in October. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI was up 0.1%. …Consumers paid more year over year in October for homeowners’ home and mortgage insurance (+6.8%) and passenger vehicle insurance premiums (+7.3%). Among the provinces, prices rose the most in Alberta for both measures, with a 13.7% increase in homeowners’ home and mortgage insurance and a 17.8% increase in passenger vehicle insurance premiums.
Logs are a familiar sight on the beaches along the coast of Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii and are often viewed positively, as they can stabilize the banks, be used for firewood or act as benches by beach-goers. However, new research from the University of Victoria (UVic) shows that these logs are not as innocuous as they seem. According to a study published by UVic biologist Tom Reimchen and two of his students, free-floating logs that wash ashore, referred to as drift logs, are causing widespread destruction of rocky intertidal ecosystems communities along the coast of Western Canada. …While drift logs may seem rather stable to the casual observer, more than 90 per cent of logs are displaced annually, and log movement during storms is frequent and extensive. This movement disrupts the ecological environment in the intertidal zone—the stretch of beach between the highest high tide and the lowest low tide. …This research was published in 
At a recent public open house, the Squamish Community Forest unveiled its vision for sustainable land use, cultural preservation, and wildfire mitigation over the next five years. The Squamish Community Forest functions on a Community Forest Agreement (CFA) and equal shareholding between Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) and District of Squamish. This was their first ever partnership, as Squamish mayor and Community Forest chair Armand Hurford confirmed. The discussion that followed was centred around the sustainability and balance of cultural and environmental values. This year, the Community Forest has been given a $40,000 grant from the Silviculture Innovation Program (SIP) to implement silviculture in collaboration with the Nation’s Rights and Title and Cultural teams—a part of the Community Forest’s imminent five-year plan.
Vernon, Revelstoke and Penticton will be included in a province-wide protest demanding a halt to old-growth logging on Tuesday. In Vernon, it’s being dubbed a “showdown at BC Timber Sales,” and the local organizers, which include the Peachland Watershed Protection Alliance and the Interior Watershed Task Force, are driving that adversarial image home by encouraging protesters to don western garb when they rally outside the Ministry of Forests office from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 18. Similar rallies are being held in Victoria, Nelson, Revelstoke, Smithers, Courtenay, Parksville, Prince George, Grand Forks, Penticton, Port Coquitlam, and Powell River. …Protest organizers took aim at Forestry Minister Ravi Parmar, saying seven B.C. mills have closed during his eight-month tenure. “Meanwhile he is off in Asia promising wood we do (not) have and opening trade offices … promising trees we do not grow,” the press release states. …A website, 
BANFF, Alberta – Because of this importance of whitebark pine, Parks Canada is working across the mountain national parks of Banff, Yoho, Kootenay, Jasper, Revelstoke-Glacier and Waterton Lakes to try to give endangered whitebark pine a fighting chance. The higher elevation trees, which can live to be 1,000 years old, are dying off at an alarming rate. Climate change, more than a century of wildfire suppression and mountain pine beetle are all playing a role, but the biggest threat comes from white pine blister rust. …One clear sign of infection is orange blisters on the bark. McLellan said less than one per cent of whitebark pine are naturally resistant to the rust. …Charlie McLellan said last summer about 6,500 rust-resistant saplings were planted in the Banff National Park field unit and in Kootenay National Park – made up of whitebark pine and limber pine, another species recommended to be listed as endangered.
The best time to plant a tree is 10 years ago. Or 20. That’s what I was told by the two retired foresters who put 2,000 one-year-old seedlings in the ground on my farm back in 2017. I had signed on with what was then called the 50 Million Tree program run by Forests Ontario, which subsidized plantings for private landowners. …the Forests Ontario program made tree planting easy. At 40 cents a stem, those trees cost me $800. While 2,000 trees seems like a lot, they cover just under one hectare. We got the seedlings in the ground a couple years before Doug Ford nixed the initiative in 2019. But then, Justin Trudeau created the 
The provincial government has awarded a pair of contracts to build firebreaks in areas of the Avalon Peninsula ravaged by this summer’s historic wildfire season — fires that forced hundreds of people from their homes and destroyed more than 200 structures. A firebreak is an intentionally created gap where burnable material, like vegetation and trees, are cleared in an effort to stop a fire from spreading further by removing flammable materials that could feed it. It was employed as a firefighting tactic against the Kingston, Martin Lake and Paddy’s Pond fires. According to a list of recently disclosed provincial government procurement contracts, Conception Bay South-based Platinum Construction Company Limited was awarded a $51,600 contract. Another contract, valued at $419,983.35, was awarded to Jerseyside-based Tier 1 Capital Corporation to build firebreaks in Burnt Point and Salmon Cove. Both contracts were awarded shortly after the PC party won a majority government on Oct. 14.
Each year, the BC Forest Safety Council honours individuals who go above and beyond to make forestry safer for everyone. Since 2008, the Leadership in Safety Awards have recognised outstanding contributions in three key areas: harvesting, manufacturing and lifetime achievement. These awards honour people who lead by example—those who bring fresh ideas, foster a strong safety culture and consistently put the well-being of others first. …Congratulations to all of this year’s award recipients! Your leadership, care and commitment continue to make BC’s forestry industry safer and stronger. Nominations for the 2026 Leadership in Safety Awards open on January 12, 2026.