Region Archives: Canada

Breaking News

Prime Minister Carney announces new measures to transform Canada’s softwood lumber industry

Office of the Prime Minister of Canada
August 5, 2025
Category: Breaking News
Region: Canada

Mark Carney

The global trade landscape has fundamentally changed. Canada’s new government will invest in domestic production, develop Canadian expertise, support our companies to retool and reinvest, and help industries pivot to a growing Canadian market and those of new, reliable trading partners around the world. As part of that strategy, the Prime Minister, Carney, announced a series of new measures to help the softwood lumber industry transform to remain competitive. …Canada’s new government will:

  • Provide up to $700 million in loan guarantees to address the immediate pressures facing the softwood lumber sector. 
  • Invest $500 million to supercharge product and market diversification to make the industry more competitive for the long-term. 
  • Build Canadian by prioritizing Canadian materials in construction and changing federal procurement processes to require companies contracting with the federal government to source Canadian lumber. 
  • Diversify international markets for Canada’s sustainably sourced forest products. 
  • Provide $50 million for upskilling, reskilling, and income supports for more than 6,000 affected softwood lumber workers through the Labour Market Development Agreements. 

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Prime Minister Mark Carney announces support measures as the US ratchets up duties on Canadian lumber

By Wolfgang Depner
The Canadian Press in the Times-Colonist
August 5, 2025
Category: Breaking News
Region: Canada

KELOWNA — Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government is preparing financial supports for the forestry sector as the United States ratchets up duties on Canadian softwood lumber. …It comes amid heightened trade tensions with the United States over softwood lumber, a decades-long friction point in the Canada-U.S. trade relationship. The US Commerce Department recently announced it intends to hike anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood to just over 20%. The prime minister outlined a series of supports at a lumber mill in West Kelowna, B.C., on Tuesday, saying Canada will be its own best customer by relying on more Canadian timber as it works to double the pace of new home building to almost 500,000 homes a year over the next decade.

In support of the Canadian announcement: 

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Business & Politics

Developer concerned $1.2B lumber support plan ‘could be read as another subsidy’

By Joshua Santos
BNN Bloomberg
August 7, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Amar Doman

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s decision to offer over a billion dollars for Canada’s softwood lumber industry has a developer concerned funds will be perceived as subsidies causing uncertainty for exporters relying on business with the United States. “I think the Prime Minister is doing what he can and trying to put his arms around the industry the best he can. The problem with what he’s doing is that it could be read as another subsidy, and that’s what this whole thing is about,” Amar Doman, founder and CEO of Doman Building Materials, told BNN Bloomberg. “It’s about our stumpage system and about how we unfairly dump lumber into the states. We’ve got to be a little careful if we’re throwing more, call it money, to the sawmill industry. …we might get back into hot water and get viewed as more subsidies, and that’s not what we need.”

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Northwest mayors cheer Ottawa aid package to backstop forest industry

Northern Ontario Business
August 6, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

A $1.2-billion lifeline from Ottawa that’s being thrown to the forest industry is welcome news to northwestern Ontario mayors and the Canadian Wood Council. …The 37-member Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association (NOMA) called it a “significant and timely commitment to ensuring the long-term competitiveness of the forest sector” and comes at a crucial time when local jobs, economic growth and municipal stability is on the line. …“These measures recognize the vital role of forestry in Northwestern Ontario and across Canada,” said Marathon Mayor and NOMA president Rick Dubas in a statement, “helping our sector adapt to ongoing trade challenges, protect local jobs, and create opportunities for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.”

In related coverage:

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Tariff Rate Quotas: A New Strategy for Canada-US Trade Talks

Canadian Politics and Public Policy
August 6, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Fen Osler Hampson

In the aftermath of the decision by the US to ratchet up tariffs to 35% on all non-CUSMA-compliant Canadian exports, Canada finds itself at a crossroads. …Automobiles and softwood lumber are also in his crosshairs. Unless there is a breakthrough in talks soon, or relief through successful court challenges… further trouble may arise unless we adjust our strategy. The time has come for Canadian negotiators to consider redirecting talks away from tariffs to tariff rate quota-based (TRQ) trade. …By their nature, tariffs are blunt instruments. When the US slaps a 35% duty at the border, Canadian producers do not recoup any benefit; rather, it is the US Treasury that lines its pockets. Quotas, on the other hand, set a ceiling for managed trade. …BC Premier David Eby has called for TRQs instead of tariffs on BC lumber exports to the US. The same principle should be applied to Canadian exports in steel, aluminum, and autos.

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International solidarity is always the answer

By Marty Warren, Canada National Director
United Steelworkers
August 7, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

For us Steelworkers, international solidarity runs deep in our veins. It is the lifeblood of our union… Currently, we are facing tremendous challenges on both sides of the border. Here in Canada, our jobs are facing a great deal of uncertainty and the cost of living has continued to rise, with little affordable housing available in the backdrop of a contracting economy. Members and people across Canada more generally are worried and reasonably so. In the U.S., hundreds of thousands of jobs are being cut from the public sector, rights are being rolled back with each passing day, immigration raids are terrorizing communities and life is growing more expensive, worsened by an ongoing trade war. That is why our union has taken on this tariff fight with such gusto. …I have worked alongside USW International President Dave McCall and [others] on the issue of the reckless tariffs levied against Canada by U.S. President Donald Trump.

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Carney hints at dropping some US tariffs if it will help Canadian industries hit by trade war

By Catharine Tunney
CBC News
August 5, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Mark Carney & Nick Arkle

Prime Minister Mark Carney showed no signs of retaliating against U.S. President Donald Trump’s increased tariffs — and even suggested he’s open to removing existing tariffs if it would help Canadian industries. …”We’ve always said we will apply tariffs where they had the maximum impact on the United States and minimum impact in Canada,” said Carney when asked why Canada hasn’t fired back against the new tariff rate. Prime Minister Mark Carney said he hadn’t ‘spoken to the president in recent days’ as Canada and the US are still without a trade deal. ….”So we don’t automatically adjust. We look at what we can do for our industry that’s most effective. In some cases that will be to remove tariffs.” …Carney floating the idea of dropping tariffs is notable after Trump granted Mexico a 90-day pause on tariff hikes with the goal of signing a new deal.

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What new lumber support says about US trade negotiations

By Ian Hanomansing
CBC News
August 5, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced more than $1 billion to support Canada’s beleaguered softwood lumber industry. Brian Menzies, executive director of the Independent Wood Processors Association, says the new support measures are ‘a good step in the right direction.’

Related coverage on Canada’s response to the US hike in softwood lumber duties:

 

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Forestry expert discusses the effects of the Canada-U.S trade war on the lumber industry

By Matt Ingram
CHCH News
August 6, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

CHCH News Anchor Matt Ingram spoke with the President and CEO of the Forest Products Association of Canada Derek Nighbor. They discussed the impact of the big hike in U.S. anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber and how far will the promised $1.2 billion in supports for the sector go to make up for the hit from these increased anti-dumping duties.

Related commentary on the effects of US-Canada trade war:

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Fire out at Kalesnikoff Lumber

By Greg Nesteroff
My Kootenay Now
August 6, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

CASTLEGAR, BC — No one was injured in a fire at Kalesnikoff Lumber this afternoon, but damage is described as “significant.” Tarrys Fire Chief Greg Patterson said five fire departments responded to the call at about 1 p.m. and spent three hours on the scene. The sawmill’s own fire brigade did their own initial attack, which was “a great benefit.” The cause was a fan bearing that overheated in a mechanical room at the southeast corner of the mill, Patterson said. Radiant heat spread the fire into walls. …“There’s definitely some significant damage to the mill, but things that can be repaired and replaced, and the structure itself is still sound.” …Castlegar provided aerial apparatus to give firefighters the height they needed to attack the fire. Patterson said Kalesnikoff is assessing the damage, but he didn’t think that it would prevent the mill from continuing to operate.

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‘Great News – But Not Enough’: B.C. Leaders Weigh In on Federal Lumber Aid”

By Jeff Andreas
Radio NL 610 AM
August 6, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

British Columbia’s forestry leaders offer a mix of praise and caution following the announcement of federal aid for Canada’s lumber industry. While both welcomed the support, they emphasized the urgent need for fiber access and resolving the US trade dispute. B.C. Forestry Minister Ravi Parmar called the federal funding package “really good news” and a long-overdue show of federal support for a sector that has long felt sidelined in Ottawa. …Parmar emphasized that B.C., as the world’s second-largest exporter of softwood lumber, must receive a proportional share of the funding to modernize its mills and build new global partnerships. …B.C. Conservative forestry critic Ward Stamer, welcomed the funding as a positive sign of federal commitment but warned that the underlying problems plaguing B.C.’s forestry industry remain unaddressed. …“It shows the federal government understands how important the forest industry is not just to B.C., but to the whole country,” said Stamer.

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Chartwell Resource Group and DWB Consulting Services Announce Merger

Business Wire
August 1, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

VANCOUVER, BC–Chartwell Resource Group Ltd. and DWB Consulting Services Ltd. are pleased to announce they will be joining forces to establish British Columbia’s leading multidisciplinary consulting firm specializing in environmental and resource management, GIS, engineering, and sustainable forest stewardship services for clients across the natural and built environment. The merger will expand collective capabilities, geographic coverage, and represents a natural step forward for both organizations. The combined platform will now offer provincewide coverage with a team of nearly 300 employees. “Merging our teams will not only strengthen our business, but also create new opportunities for our people, our clients, and our future,” said Kevin Bedford, CEO of DWB “As one company, we can better share and grow our industry knowledge, talent, and relationships.” “This merger empowers us to meet the evolving needs of our clients while continuing to innovate and future-proof our business,” said Cliff Roberts, CEO of Chartwell.

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BC’s Jobs Minister Kahlon urges Canada to ‘negotiate hard’ over US tariff raises

By Wolfgang Depner
The Canadian Press in Business in Vancouver
August 1, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

VICTORIA — BC’s minister of jobs and economic growth is urging the federal government to stand firm and “negotiate hard” when trying to find a solution to tariffs imposed by President Trump. …He said he believes Carney and Canada-US Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc are taking the right approach, “which is keeping their head down… and not getting distracted by the day-to-day swings of the president of the United States.” He said he would also highlight the importance of the softwood lumber industry for BC, which is just as crucial as the auto industry is to Ontario. …Both Eby and Kahlon have repeatedly argued that the long-running softwood lumber dispute with the United States should be part of a larger deal. Brian Menzies, executive director of the Independent Wood Processors Association, said he is “not very optimistic” that a future deal would also resolve the softwood dispute.

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Finance & Economics

Our leaders keep talking about the housing crisis. So why on earth are we building way fewer homes?

By Mike Moffatt
The Hub
August 6, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has just issued a sobering warning to policymakers regarding the state of Canadian housing. Yet, governments do not appear to be getting the message, nor do they seem willing to take the necessary steps to address the crisis. In their Summer 2025 outlook, the CMHC forecasts that housing starts will fall to 220,000 units by 2027, a nearly 20 percent reduction from 2021’s levels, which exceeded 270,000 units. This forecast is 13,000 homes lower than in their February 2025 release and comes under the backdrop of a Liberal government that promised to “double Canada’s current rate of residential construction over the next decade to reach 500,000 homes per year.” The forecasted decline is almost entirely isolated to British Columbia and Ontario. …Demand from homebuyers has declined substantially, as a combination of a weak economy and the post-2021 rise in interest rates has made purchasing new homes unattractive.

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What impact will hiked Canadian softwood duties have? It depends who you ask.

The HBS Dealer
August 5, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

It’s been over a week since the U.S. Commerce Department confirmed that it’s nearly tripling its anti-dumping duties on Canadian lumber imports from 7.66% to 20.56% following its annual review. The response from north of the border has been apoplectic, to say the least. …In the US, several entities are worried about the hiked duties, too. The NAHB continues to sound the alarm that new duties will raise the cost of homebuilding. …”We are also urging the administration to move immediately to enter into negotiations with Canada on a new softwood lumber agreement.” …The US Lumber Coalition continues to be the loudest voice in the room in favor. …”Canada continues its relentless shipments of dumped and subsidized lumber with devastating consequences for mills, workers, and communities.” …The downstream effects of all these trade war machinations remain to be seen, though the cross-border lumber trade has already slowed down considerably.

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Canada’s trade deficit widened in June to second largest on record

By Promit Mukherjee
Reuters in Yahoo! Finance
August 5, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

Canada’s merchandise trade deficit widened in June to C$5.9 billion as imports grew faster than exports due to a one-time high-value oil equipment import. The deficit observed in June is the second highest on record after the deficit expanded to its largest in history in April to C$7.6 billion, when the impact of US tariffs first started to weigh. Canada’s exports to the US as a share of total exports shrank to 70% in June from 83% in the same period a year ago while its surplus with the US contracted by a half in the same period, data showed. Total imports were up 1.4% in June to C$67.6 billion from a drop of 1.6% in the prior month, Statistics Canada said. Canada’s total exports grew 0.9% in June to C$61.74 billion following an increase of 2% in May, led primarily by an increase in crude oil exports.

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Lumber Futures Hit a Three-Year High

By Ryan Dezember
The Wall Street Journal
August 1, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

Lumber futures hit their highest price in three years Friday despite a home-building slump and a lackluster remodeling market. Though wood demand is tepid, traders are pricing in dramatically higher duties on lumber imports from Canada. Lumber futures for September delivery hit $695 per thousand board feet Friday, up 39% from a year ago and the highest price since summer 2022, when the price of two-by-fours was tumbling down from its pandemic surge. November futures are trading even higher, around $710. The US raised its antidumping duty Tuesday to nearly 21% from 7.7%… [and] The Commerce Department said it would impose a higher countervailing duty in the coming days. The combined rate is expected to be around 35%. …”We don’t make a tremendous amount of money on distributing lumber,” Builders FirstSource CEO Peter Jacksons told investors. “We’re not eating a 20-point increase in lumber. It’s not possible. So it will be passed through. The market will adapt.” [to access the full story a WSJ subscription is required]

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Cascades reports Q2, 2025 net loss of $3 million

Cascades Inc.
August 7, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, Canada East

KINGSEY FALLS, Quebec — Cascades reported its unaudited financial results for the three-month period ended June 30, 2025. Q2 2025 Highlights include: Sales of $1,187 million (compared with $1,154 million in Q1 2025 and $1,180 million in Q2 2024); Operating income of $36 million (compared with $50 million in Q1 2025 and $34 million in Q2 2024); Net loss per common share of ($0.03) (compared with net earnings per common share of $0.07 in Q1 2025 and net earnings per common share of $0.01 in Q2 2024); and Adjusted earnings (EBITDA of $137 million (compared with $125 million in Q1 2025 and $112 million in Q2 2024). Cascades CEO Hugues commented, “We are anticipating third quarter performance to be slightly higher sequentially. 

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Mayor’s mass timber motion receives unanimous support from Halifax council

By Glenn MacDonald
The Chronicle Herald
August 6, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada East

There may have been dissension surrounding the Morris Street bikeway, but the Halifax mayor and regional council found common ground with mass timber. Mayor Andy Fillmore tabled a motion at Tuesday’s council meeting to direct the chief administrative officer to prepare a staff report that, with changes to land-use bylaws and amendments to a municipal planning strategy, would knock down barriers to mass timber construction to help expedite housing builds. That would include the potential to increase the height of built-form requirements from 10 to 12 storeys for mass timber construction. The motion passed unanimously. “The principal reason (for supporting the mayor’s motion) is that this unlocks some newfound potential in local supply,” Coun. Jean St-Amand (Bedford-Wentworth) said. “I think that’s something that can have a very positive impact to the acceleration of our ability and our capacity to build.

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Ontario’s prefab wood industry poised to deliver 24,000 homes annually — without new infrastructure

By Mike Phillips, Ontario Structural Wood Association
Ontario Construction News
August 7, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada East

In recent years, a growing number of reports and policy papers have proposed solutions to address Ontario’s short- and medium-term housing needs — pointing to off-site prefabrication as a key part of the solution. The Ontario Structural Wood Association (OSWA) believes there is already a cost-effective, immediate solution: using the existing capacity of the light wood framing (LWF) industry. What the industry needs is not more infrastructure, but a clear signal in the form of orders — and a commitment that those orders will continue, to support investments in manufacturing platforms. With that assurance, we can build what is needed. To demonstrate that Ontario already has this production capacity, OSWA conducted a survey of the LWF industry in spring 2025, with a particular focus on panel manufacturing. 

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Structural optimization methods for mass timber projects explored

By Don Procter
Daily Commercial News
August 5, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada East

Mass timber’s profile is rising but many architects and engineers are still unfamiliar with how it can be integrated into their designs. Over-engineered solutions can lead to complications, resulting in wasted time, unnecessary costs and heightened execution risks. Design efficiency starts by emphasizing repetition and standardization in sections and connections, says Pierre-Yves Leroux, sales representative and technical adviser with Art Massif, a mass timber glulam manufacturer based in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, about 80 kilometres southwest of Quebec City. Leroux, who presented a webinar, hosted by Woodworks Atlantic, covered structural optimization methods, moisture protection as well as anchor and connection details that can result in cost and time savings. …Leroux says Art Massif has developed a prefabrication process for glulam timber decking planks with attached plywood and a temporary membrane that reduces the time/risk of exposure of the structure to the elements. It can also eliminate up to 60 per cent of the installation time.

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Can charred wood help Nova Scotia farmers — and the climate?

By Moira Donovan
CBC News
August 4, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada East

In a rolling field in the Annapolis Valley, the soil in one row of grapevines is littered with charred fragments of wood that scientists and farmers hope will turn waste into a tool to improve the health of the soil and store carbon long term. …Research scientistVicky Lévesque’s work is just one of the projects underway as scientists and companies in Nova Scotia explore how biochar can be used and produced in the province. Lévesque is testing biochar on grapevines at 11 sites in the Valley to see how it affects carbon sequestration, soil biodiversity, plant growth and nutrient leaching. …”Canada can be a leader in tapping into these underutilized residues that come from the agricultural sector, forestry sector, municipal solid waste, forest fire wood,” he said. “Biochar is one of those integral components … that will help us move towards net zero.”

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Forestry

As Miles of Forests Burn and Wildfires Spread, Canada Brings In the Military

By Ian Austen and Amy Graff
The New York Times
August 7, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

With wildfires forcing evacuations from Vancouver Island on the Pacific Coast to Newfoundland in the North Atlantic, Canadian officials were mustering additional resources on Thursday to help provinces cope with the blazes and the disruption. Eleanor Olszewski, Canada’s emergency management minister, announced on social media Thursday morning that the armed forces and the Coast Guard would assist the island province of Newfoundland in fighting blazes. Three out-of-control fires forced the evacuation of 900 people in the province on Thursday. Some provinces have moved this week to limit activities like hiking that could spark additional blazes, with forecasts indicating it is unlikely that sufficient rain would fall in regions plagued by out-of-control fires. Canada’s national fire threat level has been at 5, the highest danger rating, since late May. About 7.1 million hectares, or 27,000 square miles, of forest have burned so far this season in the country. [to access the full story a NY Times subscription is required]

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It’s time for the feds to intervene on wildfire fighting efforts

By Allison Smith
Toronto Today
August 6, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Growing up in the Greater Toronto Area, smog days were par for the course. …We’ve traded our smog days for smoke days. …Improving wildfire response should be an imperative of Prime Minister Mark Carney and his newly formed government. …Wildfires will burn no matter how many waterbombers Canada has, but there is no question there would be fewer homes destroyed, less First Nations forced to evacuate and fewer air quality alerts issued if Saskatchewan had 600 aircraft in action right now, rather than six. …Let’s turn this whole country into a waterbomber assembly line. The demand isn’t going anywhere — domestically or internationally. …In the meantime, the federal government needs to ramp up funding transfers to the provinces for wildfire fighter and pilot training programs and equipment purchases. …Getting forest fires under control is also an act of sovereignty. 

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Public Consultation Notice: Intact Forest Landscapes in Canada

Forest Stewardship Council Canada
August 1, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

The Forest Stewardship Council Canada announces the launch of a public consultation on draft indicators related to Intact Forest Landscapes (IFLs). These indicators form part of our ongoing work to strengthen forest stewardship and protect ecologically and culturally significant forest areas across Canada. IFLs are large, unfragmented areas of natural forest that are free from significant human activity and are critical for biodiversity, carbon storage, and Indigenous cultural values. FSC Canada is committed to ensuring that management activities in IFLs are carefully assessed and responsibly planned. These indicators will guide how FSC-certified forest operations manage intact forest areas… Indigenous Cultural Landscapes (ICLs) are areas that hold significant cultural, ecological, and spiritual value to Indigenous Peoples, reflecting their deep relationships with the land. Due to the need for more in-depth consultation with Indigenous Peoples on the Draft Indicators and Guidance for ICLs, an additional consultation period will be launched shortly. 

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BC Wildfire Service warns of sharing AI-generated images of fires

By Amy Judd
Global News
August 5, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

The BC Wildfire Service is warning people about sharing unverified images online of what are AI-generated images of wildfires. In a post on Facebook, the service said that while social media can be a great resource for information and updates, wildfire seasons can also be a “time of fear and anxiety and during times of concern misinformation can spread quickly and add to the uncertainty.” The post included two images, which the BC Wildfire Service said have been circulating on social media over the past few weeks. “In the photos… you can see images generated with artificial intelligence that were shared by other accounts and seemingly show recent wildfires,” the organization said. “However, they do not accurately represent the terrain, fire size or fire behaviour in the area. Someone scrolling past could believe this image is real or accurate when it is not.”

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Higher fuel, food, fire retardant costs mean more Yukon wildfire spending

By Dana Hatherly
Yukon News
July 31, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Above average spending on Yukon wildfires is in the forecast due to rising costs of fuel, aircraft, vehicles, food and fire retardant, Yukon wildfire officials told reporters during a July 30 briefing. Officials indicated more spending doesn’t necessarily mean more fires; it relates to higher costs in general. “The cost of fuel is going up. The cost of aircrafts are going up. The cost of vehicles is going up. Fire retardant, which we used over a million litres of, has almost doubled in price in the past several years. Food for catering, for feeding all these crews. Obviously, the cost of food has gone up,” director of Yukon Wildland Fire Management Devin Bailey said at the mid-season briefing. “As everything gets more expensive, we’re going to see more expensive responses during fire season.”

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Gibsons pushes for watershed oversight as logging proposed

By Jordan Copp
The Coast Reporter
August 4, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Gibsons council is renewing its push for stronger watershed protections and clearer oversight of forestry operations, following a staff report on BC Timber Sales’ (BCTS) 2025–2029 Sunshine Coast Operating Plan. At its July 22 regular meeting, council endorsed a recommendation to re-share findings from a 2024 review of BCTS’s watershed assessment with the Ministry of Forests and the Ministry of Water, Lands, and Resource Stewardship. The review, conducted by independent hydrology experts, raised concerns about the potential impact of proposed logging — particularly cut block TA0159 — on Aquifer 560 recharge. “This is just one of those things that comes and goes,” said Coun. David Croal. “One minute they’re talking about logging, and the next minute the auction is next week. I really appreciate the conscientious effort our staff is putting in to stay on top of this.”

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Community Forests: Rooted in Community, Growing for Generations

By Jennifer Gunter, Executive Director
The BC Community Forest Association
August 1, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

…The pressure to balance local benefits and profitability is something community forests must continuously navigate. A recent news article raised valid questions about the future of small, value-added mills in B.C. and their relationship with community forests. The BC Community Forest Association (BCCFA) welcomes this attention and agrees that where logs go — and who benefits — matters deeply. But we also believe it’s important to reflect the full picture. …In a news story about logs leaving Valemount — and other similar concerns across the province — the issue should not be framed as a ‘failure’ of the community forest model. Rather, these scenarios reflect the pressure these communities are under and emphasize the need for stronger collaboration between mill operators, tenure holders, and government partners. [We] take a multifaceted approach to stewardship, managing forests for the benefit of people, place, and long-term resilience.

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Mining, Forestry, Reconciliation: Parliamentary Secretary Guay Brings the Conversation to Northern Quebec

Natural Resources Canada
August 6, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Fostering inclusive economic development and ensuring that local communities, including Indigenous partners, benefit from these opportunities are key priorities for the Government of Canada. Today, Claude Guay, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, concluded a two-day tour of Northern Quebec, where he highlighted the importance of Quebec’s mining and forest sectors in building Canada’s supply chains and export opportunities, creating good jobs, and strengthening reconciliation… Parliamentary Secretary Guay concluded the trip with a visit to Les Chantiers Chibougamau’s Kraft Pulp Mill in Lebel-sur-Quevillon and their head manufacturing plant in Chibougamau. These sites are key examples of Quebec’s forest sector excellence and innovation in modernizing the industry, accelerating affordable housing and promoting green construction using value-added Canadian wood-based products.

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Health & Safety

Overdue cancer investigation nearly complete for former Domtar plant, province says

By Wallis Snowdon
CBC News
August 3, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

A long overdue investigation into elevated cancer rates among residents living near a former wood treatment plant in northeast Edmonton is expected to be released this year. The investigation began in the Homesteader neighbourhood after a preliminary health study released in 2019 found that residents living near the site of a former Domtar plant had elevated rates of cancer. According to Alberta Health officials, the results of the epidemiological investigation should be published in 2025, more than five years after it was due to be made public. It’s the first clear timeline provided by the provincial government about the health study in years — as cleanup of contaminated lands is deemed complete, clearing the way for new residential development where the wood treatment plant once stood. …The plant operated from 1924 until 1987, using toxic preservatives such as creosote to treat railway ties, telephone poles and other wood products.

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Toronto among worst air quality in the world as special statement continues

By Julia Alevato
CBC News
August 4, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada East

Toronto is among the most polluted cities in the world on Monday morning as the city remains under a special air quality statement for its third consecutive day.  Environment Canada said smoke from forest fires is expected to continue to impact much of southern Ontario Monday and may persist into Tuesday before finally easing. “Air quality and visibility due to wildfire smoke can fluctuate over short distances and can vary considerably from hour to hour,” said Environment Canada in a special air quality statement issued Monday morning. …Toronto ranked third in a list of the world’s most polluted cities as of Sunday morning, according to a global ranking by IQAir, a Swiss air quality technology company. …Environment Canada is suggesting people limit time outdoors and consider rescheduling outdoor sports, activities, and events due to smoke levels. 

Related coverage:  

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Forest Fires

Wildfires push thousands from homes in Manitoba, Newfoundland, while areas of Nova Scotia on high alert

By Temur Durrani and Mike Hager
The Globe and Mail
August 5, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada

Rapidly growing wildfires in several provinces forced thousands of people from their homes and prompted air-quality warnings in cities thousands of kilometres away, while hot and dry conditions had other areas on high alert, including Nova Scotia, where the government banned most summertime activities in wooded areas. The deteriorating conditions have added up to a wildfire season that is on track to be one of Canada’s worst on record in terms of area burned, second only to 2023. As of Tuesday, at least 15,000 people were under evacuation orders in Manitoba, largely in the province’s north, while fires on Newfoundland and Labrador’s Avalon Peninsula had forced around 600 people from their homes. Across the country, more than 760 wildfires are burning, at least 205 of them deemed out of control. About 6.8 million hectares of land have burned so far this year.

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B.C.’s wildfire situation remains manageable after 70,000 lightning strikes

By Mark Page
Parksville Qualicum Beach News
August 6, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

Forest Minister Ravi Parmar told reporters on Wednesday (Aug. 6) that in the past week, roughly 70,000 lightning strikes have hit B.C., leading to a “sudden increase” in fire activity.  He also said that the B.C. Wildfire Service has largely been able to keep the fires from spreading. So far this season, more than 850 wildfires have sparked in B.C, but the province has kept 85 per cent of them smaller than four hectares, and only 120 were active on Aug. 6. As of Aug. 11 last year, there had been more than 1,300 fires, with almost 400 still active on that date. The only current “wildfire of note” is the Wesley Ridge fire on Vancouver Island. The fire is at Cameron Lake, between Parksville and Port Alberni, and is 530 hectares in size. Evacuation orders are in place for 400 homes, and 700 more are on evacuation alert.

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‘Evidence of drought’: Wesley Ridge wildfire burns through dry conditions

By Kevin Forsyth
Alberni Valley News
August 5, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

Firefighters battling along the Wesley Ridge wildfire are dealing with a blaze that has roughly 150 per cent more fuel to burn through compared to normal. Rory Colwell, fire behaviour analyst for BC Wildfire Service, pointed to “evidence of drought”, and said the conditions are causing the fire to spread to areas and in ways not normally seen. “You can see how dry and crunchy the ground is,” Colwell said in a video update posted the evening of Aug. 4. “Some of the logs that we’re seeing of this size out in the forest are showing as low as 10 or 12 per cent moisture content.” As of 11 a.m. on Aug. 5, the fire remains at 511 hectares in size. More than 200 firefighting personnel are responding, assisted by seven helicopters, as well as land-based air tankers and skimmers, and eight pieces of heavy equipment.

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25 fires sparked across West Kootenay in six days

By Betsy Kline
Castlegar News
August 5, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

©BCWildfireService

Since July 29, at least 25 wildfires have been started across the West Kootenay as lighting storms peppered the region. A number of the fires have been extinguished, but 17 were still burning as of press time Tuesday morning. Most of the fires were under one hectare, but one fire near Castlegar and one near Nakusp were larger. The Northside Mt. Mackie fire was discovered Aug. 3. It is located between Castlegar and Nancy Green Provincial Park, about one kilometre off Highway 3. …Four of the Nakusp-area fires are out of control while the rest are now designated as being held. An earlier fire discovered a month ago on July 2 continues to burn at Little Cayuse Creek west of Syringa Creek Provincial Park. It has burned 12.48 hectares but is considered under control. More lightning is forecast across the West Kootenay this week.

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Wesley Ridge wildfire grows to 511 hectares, now designated a ‘wildfire of note’

By Jeff Lawrence
Chek News
August 4, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Wesley Ridge fire burning along the north shore of Cameron Lake continued to grow Monday, with the BC Wildfire Service now classifying it as a “wildfire of note.” As of Monday at 10 a.m., the fire had expanded to 511 hectares, up from 389 hectares reported the day before. A total of 164 firefighting personnel have now been deployed to help battle the blaze. Despite the growth, fire officials say efforts to protect homes and slow the fire’s spread are showing success. “Today, we experienced some fire growth throughout the fire, but we also had a pretty successful day operationally,” said BCWS deputy incident commander Dimitri Vaisius in an update posted to YouTube on Monday. …Aircraft equipped with night vision worked overnight, dropping water on active areas and cooling hotspots, BCWS said in an update. …At this time, the highway remains open, but drivers should expect delays and are asked not to stop along the corridor.

Additional coverage in the CBC: Wildfire on Vancouver Island continues to grow

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Calm wildfire season in Quebec can’t keep the smoke away

By Charlotte Lepage
CBC News
August 6, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada East

The air quality has finally improved after several days of wildfire smoke hanging over much of southern Quebec. Montreal, along with several other cities in the province, were dealt an air quality advisory starting Saturday and clearing up Monday evening. But this year, the smoke causing the poor air quality isn’t coming from within the province but rather from the fires raging in the Prairies. While Quebec is seeing a rather tame wildfire season, this year is still gearing up to be another intense season for other parts of Canada. So far, 2025 has seen wildfires consume 6.5 million hectares. Last year the number totalled 5.3 million, and in 2023 — Canada’s worst wildfire season on record — a little over 16 million hectares burned.  “The thing that is quite exceptional right now is that we had three years in a row with very, very high fire activity in Canada,” said Boulanger. The three most active fire seasons since 1995 have been recorded between 2023 and 2025, he said.

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Raging wildfires force several Avalon communities to evacuate, others on alert

Elizabeth Whitten
CBC News
August 5, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

Wildfires burning out of control on Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula have forced hundreds of people from several communities to flee their homes and others to be ready to leave if the call comes. On Monday, residents in the Conception Bay North communities of Small Point–Adam’s Cove–Blackhead–Broad Cove and Kingston were told to evacuate due to a burning wildfire near Kingston. …A new fire near Holyrood prompted partial evacuation of residents, and the Town of Conception Bay South also evacuated the area of the Conception Bay Highway west of Seal Cove Road. “We’ve had an interesting fire season, to say the least,” provincial fire duty officer Jeff Motty told CBC Radio’s The St. John’s Morning Show on Tuesday. …The current dry conditions are also making the current fire fighting season challenging, said Motty.

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Some Residents Evacuated as Crews Battle Two Forest Fires in Eastern Newfoundland

VOCM News Now
August 5, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada East

Fire crews have been kept busy over the last day or so battling two wildfires that have forced the evacuation of residents from several areas. The fire burning near Kingston grew in size yesterday evening, prompting officials to extend the evacuation order to the town of Western Bay. Residents of Ochre Pit Cove have been put on an evacuation alert, meaning they should be prepared to leave at a moments notice. Fire Duty Officer Jeff Motty says the fire’s growth yesterday evening took crews by surprise because that time of day is usually where crews would see an increase in relative humidity, which would help with suppression efforts. They are saying the fire is about 258 hectares, but Motty notes the fire is larger than that – they just can’t accurately map it because of heavy smoke.

Additional coverage from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador: Update on Wildfires on Avalon Peninsula

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