Derek Nighbor, President and CEO of the Forest Products Association of Canada, appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on International Trade to outline the promise and complexity of growing Canadian forest sector exports to Japan — and to make a pointed case for sustained federal investment to make it happen. Canada currently ships roughly $1 billion annually to Japan, a figure Nighbor put in context: it reflects a century of Canadian forestry trade there and 50 years of work by the Canada Wood Group. “It’s a heavy lift,” he said. Against nearly $8 billion in annual softwood lumber exports to the United States — now facing combined duties and Section 232 tariffs in the 45% range — Japan is a real but incremental diversification opportunity. Canada holds 65% of Japan’s 2×4 dimension lumber market, built by actively developing a wood-building culture where one didn’t naturally exist. Holding and growing that share, Nighbor told the committee, requires sustained technical engagement on codes, standards, and the platform frame system — not simply shipping more product. He also flagged headwinds: declining Japanese housing starts, growing domestic Japanese lumber supply, aggressive European entry across lumber, pulp, and pellets, and tightening Japanese sustainability and traceability requirements.
Nighbor’s asks to the committee were specific. He called for dedicated multi-year funding for the Canada Wood Group to build on its export development work, and for doubling the funding of NRCan’s Global Forest Leadership Program. He asked for federal investment in market-entry infrastructure — spec alignment tools, testing labs, and distributor networks — applicable to both Japan and Korea. And he made the case for continued government-led trade missions, pointing to a BC and Alberta forestry-specific mission to Japan in November as the kind of targeted engagement that moves the needle. Beyond lumber, Nighbor identified mass timber and engineered wood — aligned with Japan’s housing renewal, decarbonization, and seismic resilience priorities — and bioeconomy products including biocarbon, biofuels, and biomass as the next frontier for Canadian forest exports to Japan.
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The Canadian forest sector is weathering a perfect storm, facing three years of soft markets, protracted geopolitical conflicts and instability in global markets, and combined tariffs and duties averaging 45% on Canadian softwood lumber products entering the US. “While we welcome the measures to improve the speed at which we can build homes, through code and regulatory improvements for modern methods of construction, we still need a clear signal that Canada intends to be a more competitive place for forest sector investment — more responsive regulation, improved transportation supply chain performance, and tax and investment tools that accelerate the use of Canadian wood products here at home while helping companies modernize facilities and keep people working,” said Derek Nighbor, FPAC President and CEO. “We look forward to Minister Hodgson’s release of the Forest Sector Transformation Task Force report, which should provide a much-needed blueprint for enhancing competitiveness and ensuring long-term growth and stability.”
MACKENZIE, BC — Conifex will temporarily curtail sawmill operations at its Mackenzie facility for about seven weeks starting May 19, 2026, with a target restart in July 2026. This planned sawmill curtailment is primarily driven by log inventory levels and fibre availability, in conjunction with seasonal logging breakup conditions impacting supply across the BC Interior. Logging operations are expected to resume in early June, subject to, among other things, weather conditions. The curtailment represents an approximately 25 million board feet supply impact. We continue to advance initiatives underway to broaden our available financing options. …Conifex restarted the Mackenzie sawmill in February after a four-week curtailment. The restart followed the completion of a $19 million secured term loan for its subsidiary Conifex Mackenzie Forest Products. 
Forestry workers, employers and communities throughout British Columbia are receiving targeted assistance through a forestry workers support grant, a $20.8-million investment to help employers and communities respond quickly to the needs of the sector, by providing funds for worker retention, wage support and job-creating local projects. “There are serious global pressures impacting forestry workers in B.C., including unfair and punishing duties and tariffs driven by U.S. President Donald Trump,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests. “We are not backing down, we’re going to fight like hell to defend our forestry jobs. The new forestry workers support grant is one tool we’re taking action on right now to protect jobs today.” Delivered through the Northern Development Initiative Trust the grant is anticipated to support 1,400 forestry workers. …“In times of crisis, workers and communities need support from the provincial government and this is a great example of that,” said Jeff Bromley, chair, United Steelworkers Wood Council.
VANCOUVER, BC — West Fraser Timber reported the first quarter results of 2026. First quarter sales were $1.334 billion, compared to $1.165 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025. First quarter earnings were $(188) million, compared to earnings of $(751) million in the fourth quarter of 2025. First quarter Adjusted EBITDA was $(66) million compared to $(79) million in the fourth quarter of 2025. Included in first quarter Adjusted EBITDA in the Lumber segment is ($114) million of duty adjustments related to prior periods compared to nil in the fourth quarter of 2025. …North America Engineered Wood Products segment Adjusted EBITDA of $11 million, and Europe Engineered Wood Products segment Adjusted EBITDA of $10 million. …Sean McLaren, West Fraser’s President and CEO said “Excluding the impact of prior year duty adjustments, we were pleased to see all of our core segments – lumber, NA EWP, and Europe EWP – report positive Adjusted EBITDA.” 
The Bank of Canada held its policy interest rate at 2.25 per cent for the fourth consecutive time on Wednesday, but warned that it would be closely watching the impact of rising oil prices on inflation in the coming months amid ongoing uncertainty caused by the war in Iran. …Inflation has been close to two per cent for over a year but rose to 2.4 per cent in March after slowing to 1.8 per cent in February. The central bank base case forecast is that inflation will peak in April at about three per cent before returning to the two per cent target in early 2027, but that is assuming global oil prices decline. U.S. tariff measures along with the uncertainty surrounding the Canada-United-States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) have also added to the uncertainty ahead of the July 1 CUSMA review deadline, especially since the Canadian government has not yet launched formal discussions with U.S. officials.
NEW BRUNSWICK — Postmedia plans to stop printing most New Brunswick newspapers in Moncton. Postmedia publishes the Times & Transcript, Telegraph-Journal, Daily Gleaner and other local newspapers. They are printed and distributed from a building along Main Street in downtown Moncton. Dave Arsenault, president of the New Brunswick Media Guild, confirmed that print and distribution will cease in Moncton and be moved elsewhere. …”Following an assessment of printing and insert packaging operations, it was determined that outsourcing these operations from Postmedia’s Moncton facility would allow us to continue serving print subscribers and advertisers while supporting long-term financial sustainability,” the company said Wednesday. The printing will be outsourced out of province starting Aug. 2. Postmedia bought most of New Brunswick’s English-language newspapers from Irving-owned Brunswick News in 2022.
Wildfire investigators found a small cabin, a barbecue, a metal campfire ring and shooting targets near where one of the most destructive wildfires in the Okanagan originated. But while the McDougall Creek wildfire was determined to be human caused, the exact cause of the fire remains “undetermined.” The McDougall Creek was first reported to the BC Wildfire Service on Aug. 15, 2023, putting up a small puff of smoke in the hills above West Kelowna. Two days later, the fire had spread rapidly through a number of Central Okanagan neighbourhoods, destroying nearly 200 homes. This past December, the Ministry of Forests completed its Wildfire Origin and Cause Investigation Report… But despite more than two years of investigation by three wildfire investigators, the cause of the massive fire remains “undetermined.” This is largely due to the fire burning back over the area of origin, destroying any evidence of its ignition.
Marking its 10th anniversary, the Forest Enhancement Society of BC is highlighting a decade of work advancing forest resilience, fibre utilization, and climate action across the province. Framed by Earth Day reflections, the latest update underscores how thoughtful forest management—from wildfire risk reduction to rehabilitation and better use of low-value fibre—can play a meaningful role in addressing climate change. FESBC continues to support projects that reduce slash burning by turning residual fibre into bioenergy, cutting greenhouse gas emissions while creating economic opportunities for communities. The newsletter also points to the importance of collaboration, including Indigenous leadership, in delivering lasting forest stewardship outcomes. Featured stories include a fuel management project with Kenpesq’t Forestry, reflections from former forests minister Doug Donaldson, and recognition of FESBC’s impact at the BC Legislature. A safety tip from the BC Forest Safety Council rounds out the update, reinforcing the sector’s ongoing focus on worker safety.
Air traffic in parts of west-central Alberta has been busier than normal over the last few days as the province prepares for another wildfire season. Newly recruited wildland firefighters are participating in training sessions in Hinton, Alta., about 270 kilometres west of Edmonton. The rookies will learn how to initially attack a fire, a process that includes a helicopter ride. Meanwhile in nearby Edson, Alta., about 90 kilometres to the east, seven planes have been stationed at the Edson Air Tanker Base. The planes, which arrived on Monday, are ready to be deployed in the event a wildfire breaks out in the region, said Derrick Forsythe, an information officer with Alberta Wildfire. The area has seen less snow than other parts of the province.
Mother Nature is the expert on growing forests, but sometimes she needs a helping hand. This hand is especially helpful when something disrupts her well-honed process in the first place. Such is the case with the forestry plantations in qax mot and the effort to restore these areas by the Comox Valley Land Trust (CVLT). Located at the Morrison Creek headwaters up Lake Trail Rd., the qax mot Conservation Area consists of 22 hectares of riparian forests and forestry plantations. …About 9 per cent of qax mot consists of forestry plantations. While it might seem like planting trees is always a good idea, the way the Douglas fir plantations were installed prohibit the natural regenerative cycle essential to a healthy forest. The trees were planted too closely, making it nearly impossible for light to break through the canopy, leaving the forest floor virtually barren of the undergrowth species we associate with a thriving West Coast forest.
Extreme weather events in northern Manitoba are challenging to navigate, and the lack of weather radar sites in the northern part of the province only adds to that challenge, experts say. “We experienced that a lot last summer during our forest fire,” said Mike Funk, the emergency co-ordinator for the City of Flin Flon. “We would get reports from Environment Canada, [saying] ‘We’re expecting rainfall,’ and they were great at predicting the time that it would hit [elsewhere]. But by the time it got close to your area, nothing happened.” Last spring, Flin Flon, more than 600 kilometers northwest of Winnipeg, was nearly encircled by wildfires. The city of roughly 5,000 was evacuated for weeks. Funk said a weather radar station in the north would give his community a clearer picture of what type of weather they could expect.
Saint John’s fire department wants the city to adopt a long-term plan to reduce the risk of wildfires and strengthen the ability to fight them. A proposed plan, which includes raising public awareness and improving wildfire training for firefighters, earned the support of the city’s public safety committee at a meeting Wednesday. Recommendations came after a detailed evaluation of wildfire risks based on terrain, weather and climate influences, locations of homes and other factors. Saint John has not experienced large-scale wildfires in recent history, as other areas of New Brunswick have, but the evaluation identified a moderate overall wildfire risk in some areas of the city. Steep hillsides, and extensive forestry, park space and other green areas — particularly near dense neighbourhoods — create risky conditions for the city uncommon in other parts of the province, Deputy Chief Ed Moyer of the Saint John Fire Department told the committee.
Our warming world is set to enter an