Region Archives: Canada

Special Feature

Looking Back, Moving Forward: 20 Years of Industry Insights at IPW 2025

Kelly McCloskey, Editor
Tree Frog Forestry News
June 2, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada, United States, International

International Pulp Week 2025 opened in Vancouver with a note of celebration and reflection as delegates marked the event’s 20th anniversary. “After decades of being in Montreal in January… we decided to move the event to Vancouver and into the spring and summer months,” said Tim Brown, Vice-President at Numera Analytics. Over the years, Brown noted, the event has drawn participants from more than 50 countries and consistently focused on the industry’s most pressing challenges and opportunities. “It’s an industry that has innovated, adapted, and is one that itself is smarter and more sustainable.” Following Brown’s welcome, he introduced Kevin Mason, Managing Director of ERA Forest Products Research, who returned to the IPW stage to reflect on two decades of transformation in the global pulp sector—and to look ahead.

…Mason highlighting four key developments that have defined the past two decades: “A dramatic rise in demand for market pulp from China… Chinese demand met by massive growth in hardwood capacity in Latin America… hardwood steadily gained share versus softwood… and tissue expanded while printing and writing papers contracted.” Looking ahead, Mason projected the estimated end-use composition of pulp demand in 2040: tissue at 54%, specialty papers at 24%, packaging at 12%, fluff-based products at 7%, and graphic paper at 3%. He also shared a slide titled “Potential Developments Over the Next 20 Years,” listing several scenarios: continued expansion of domestic pulp capacity in China; hardwood gaining further share over softwood (though possibly nearing saturation); and the potential for dramatic growth in specialty papers and packaging—if government policy supports a shift away from plastics.

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International Pulp Week Kicks Off in Vancouver BC

Tree Frog Forestry News
June 1, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada, Canada West

International Pulp Week kicked off today at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Vancouver, BC. This annual three-day conference organized by the Pulp and Paper Products Council brings together the world’s leading producers of market pulp, suppliers, financial analysts, logistic companies, and their customers for a first-class informational and networking opportunity. The goal of the event is to provide knowledge, data, and in-depth analysis on the latest market developments and trends in the market pulp industry worldwide as well as to serve the market pulp industry by allowing for a multitude of business meetings and networking opportunities that would otherwise require travel to several continents. Stay tuned all week for Tree Frog News coverage of the event. Here are a few of the attendees gathered at the opening reception.

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Seeing the Forest for the Trees

By David Adshead, BCFSC Falling Safety Advisor
BC Forest Safety Council
May 30, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada West

British Columbia is world renowned for its incredible wilderness landscape, mountains, rivers, lakes and forests. It’s a great place to live, work and play. Our forests are regionally diverse – from coastal and interior rainforests, dry belt pine and fir forest and higher elevation spruce and balsam, old growth and new growth – they all have one thing in common … trees! Whether working or playing, it is essential to be aware of a forest’s potential hazards and what can put you at risk, specifically as it relates to the trees. …“If a tree falls in the forest, does anyone hear?” … only if someone is near enough to hear. The same applies to the danger it may pose. If no one is near it, then even if it falls, it isn’t a danger to anyone. Spend enough time in a forest and you will witness a tree fall over on its own.

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Stay Informed and Stay Safe

Manufacturing Advisory Group
May 30, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada West

Building a strong safety culture begins with consistent, meaningful conversations. The BC Forest Safety Council (BCFSC) and the Manufacturing Advisory group have partnered to provide weekly Manufacturing Safety Crew Talks and Safety Alerts with timely, relevant safety topics to kick start your safety conversations. These weekly resources are simple yet powerful tools to help keep safety conversations alive and evolving in your workplace. BCFSC offers a library of hundreds of Crew Talks each designed to support short, focused safety discussions in five minutes or less. They support effective supervisor-worker engagement, helping spark meaningful conversations about current safety procedures and concerns.

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Extreme Heat and Worker Safety

Woodlots BC
May 30, 2025
Category: Special Feature
Region: Canada West

In recent years we have seen an increase in the unpredictable nature of summer weather conditions. Recently BC broke numerous heat records due to a heat dome which led to an unprecedented number of heat related illnesses and fatalities. People who work outdoors can often be at the highest risk for heat-related illnesses and injuries during hot summer conditions. High temperatures and sunshine can be a wonderful thing when enjoying time at the lake or on the beach but can cause serious health issues. The wide variety of job roles and often rigorous physical activity in forestry can put workers at risk for heat-related illness if not managed properly.

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Business & Politics

First Ministers’ statement on building a strong Canadian economy and advancing major projects

Office of the Prime Minister of Canada
June 2, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

“Today, Canada’s First Ministers met in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, to build a stronger, more competitive, and more resilient Canadian economy… “This is a first step in implementing a broader set of reforms to overhaul the project assessment process. A significantly improved, streamlined project assessment process is necessary for Canada to grow its economy to become the strongest in the G7 and a global energy superpower. “First Ministers are committed to immediately begin to address project approval and permitting efficiency and timelines for all projects. Premiers welcomed the Prime Minister’s commitment to ensuring all federal assessment decisions are rendered within two years, beginning with projects of national interest. First Ministers also agreed to work toward efficiently and effectively implementing ‘one project, one review’ with the goal of a single assessment for all projects, in a manner that respects federal, provincial, and territorial jurisdiction, enhancing co-ordination activities on permitting and eliminating duplication.

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Trump’s tariffs to remain in effect after appeals court grants stay

By Dietrich Knauth and Sarah Marsh
Reuters
May 30, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

A federal appeals court temporarily reinstated the most sweeping of President Trump’s tariffs, a day after a US trade court ruled that Trump had exceeded his authority in imposing the duties and ordered an immediate block on them. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington said it was pausing the lower court’s ruling to consider the government’s appeal. Wednesday’s surprise ruling by the US Court of International Trade had threatened Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs and additional tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China. The trade court ruled that the Constitution gave Congress, not the president, the power to levy taxes and tariffs, and that the president had exceeded his authority by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. …Trump administration officials had said they were undeterred by the trade court’s ruling, saying they expected either to prevail on appeal or employ other presidential powers to ensure the tariffs go into effect.

Related coveraged in:

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Local MLAs, Teegee weigh in on premier’s trade mission

By Colin Slark
Prince George Citizen
June 3, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West

As Premier David Eby and a British Columbia delegation tours Japan, South Korea and Malaysia, Prince George’s opposition MLAs say the trip is “damage control” for his government’s previous policies as well as the reception to the recently passed bills 14 and 15. Eby and a delegation left for a 10-day trip to Japan, South Korea and Malaysia on Saturday, May 31. One notable absence from the trip is British Columbia Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief Terry Teegee, who said in a Friday, May 30 media release that he could not participate in a mission launched by a government that passed legislation trampling First Nations’ rights. Reached by phone on Monday, June 2, Prince George-North Cariboo, Prince George-Valemount and Prince George-Mackenzie Conservative MLAs Sheldon Clare, Rosalyn Bird and Kiel Giddens said the NDP are trying to make up for having closed British Columbia’s independent trade offices in Asia over the last eight years.

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Finance & Economics

US growth forecast cut sharply by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as Trump tariffs sour global outlook

By Sophie Kiderlin
CNBC News
June 3, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States, International

Economic growth forecasts for the US and globally were cut further by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OEDC) as President Trump’s tariff turmoil weighs on expectations. The US growth outlook was downwardly revised to just 1.6% this year and 1.5% in 2026. In March, the OECD was still expecting a 2.2% expansion in 2025. The fallout from Trump’s tariff policy, elevated economic policy uncertainty, a slowdown of net immigration and a smaller federal workforce were cited as reasons for the latest downgrade. Global growth, meanwhile, is also expected to be lower than previously forecast, with the OECD saying that “the slowdown is concentrated in the United States, Canada and Mexico”. “Global GDP growth is projected to slow from 3.3% in 2024 to 2.9% this year and in 2026. It had previously forecast global growth of 3.1% this year and 3% in 2026. …The OECD adjusted its inflation forecast, saying “higher trade costs will also push up inflation.”

Related news in the Financial Post: Canada to take brunt of one of the worst slowdowns since the pandemic, warns OECD

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Fight over lumber tariffs could reshape future of US home building

By Aislinn Murphy
Fox Business News
June 2, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

Lumber is in the spotlight as the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the US Lumber Coalition disagree over what’s behind the U.S. housing market slump. The NAHB has pointed to tariff uncertainty and lumber prices as being partly responsible. The US’s current anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duty on imported Canadian softwood lumber stands at 14.5%. It could potentially climb later in the year to nearly 35%. “I share President Trump’s desire to create fair and balanced trade across our borders, certainly would bring back as much production as we can,” NAHB CEO Jim Tobin said. “But until we do that, and it will take years and millions of dollars of investment, we need to make sure that we have a reliable, affordable source of lumber.” …The US Lumber Coalition has also been critical of Canada, saying that “ongoing unfair trade practices” by its lumber industry have been “extremely harmful to US lumber producers.”

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If a Tree Falls in the Forest: Softwood Lumber Trade

By Sean Steuart, Kasia Trzaski Kopytek, Chris Krueger
TD Securities
June 2, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

For Canadian lumber producers, US market access restrictions are a long-term reality. We expect increasing duty rates plus an incremental tariff will be applied to Canadian lumber imports by the third quarter of 2025 (Q3/25). …Short-term hurdles are notable (demand headwinds, rising US duties, and expected incremental tariffs) but for some companies, we believe that recent valuation contractions discount excessive risk. …A mutual lumber trade agreement between Canada and the US is not expected in the near- to medium-term but is more likely in five years. …We include an incremental US 25% tariff applied to Canadian lumber imports (Section 232 investigation) starting Q3/25 in addition to cumulative countervailing duties (CVD)/anti-dumping duties (ADD) collection rates expected to rise to almost 35% for most sawmills by mid-Q3/25. For the average Canadian sawmill, we estimate that Canadian lumber prices would need to rise 30% from current levels to pass on the increase to duty deposit rates plus the incremental tariff to customers.

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RBC forecasts further declines in lumber and OSB prices

Investing.com
June 3, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

On Monday, RBC analysts reported a decrease in the prices of lumber and oriented strand board (OSB) over the past week. The Framing Lumber Composite price fell by $4 to $438, while the OSB Composite price dropped by $7 to $282, according to Random Lengths data. These price movements are particularly relevant for building materials companies like AZEK, a significant player with a $7.17 billion market capitalization and strong 37.22% gross margins. RBC Elements, in collaboration with its in-house data science team, developed a multi-variable time series model to project future price movements. This model estimates that the Framing Lumber Composite will decrease by an additional $1 to $437 in the coming week. Similarly, the OSB Composite is forecasted to decline by $5 to $277 next week, based on the same predictive model. These projections are part of RBC’s ongoing analysis of the paper, packaging, and forest product sectors.

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Going No Where in 2025-Q2, But Higher Prices Coming in Q3 from Duties (and Maybe Tariffs)

By Russ Taylor
Russ Taylor Global
June 2, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

US market conditions have been lackluster since the Trump tariffs on Canadian lumber were postponed for the second time in early April. …The proposed 25% tariffs were the catalyst for SPF prices rising in the first two months of 2025. …Today, this puts BC Interior SPF mills back near break-even levels at current lumber prices and 14.4% duties with other Canadian regions looking to be marginally profitable. With tariffs in suspension mode, the US market fundamentals have now been exposed – the market is weak and remain weak – and there is too much supply – again! ….The silliness of the Trump administration’s irrational rhetoric as well as biased trade policies will only result in raising all lumber prices to the US home builder, the renovation contractor, and the consumer. How much of the tariffs (or Canadian duties) are passed on to the consumer is the only wild card, but it will likely be the majority.

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What temporary tariff halts and new housing hopes mean for clients

By Phil Porado
Canadian Underwriter
May 29, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

A pause on some tariffs creates a window for Canadian companies to re-examine their risk profiles and work with brokers to secure needed coverage. Both Bay Street and Wall Street are cheering the ruling from the US Court of International Trade that, at least temporarily, tamps down the 10% tariffs the White House imposed on most countries, and drug-related emergency orders setting 25% tariffs on some goods from Canada and Mexico. …Some companies may use tariff lulls to stock up on certain key materials. …Construction companies, for example, often import flooring products from the US, even though Canadian builders have good access to lumber. For them, stockpiling those materials reduces the economic impacts of both US tariffs and Canadian retaliatory tariffs. …Additional optimism arrived via King Charles III’s Speech from the Throne this week. The document opening Canada’s parliament commits to major economic initiatives, including large-scale increases in housing construction.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Canada Wood Market Insights – June 2025

Canada Wood Group
June 3, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada

Read these stories and more in the June newsletter:

  • Canada Wood Japan’s Narrow Shear Wall R&D Project has successfully tested a 300 mm-wide shear wall prototype with a performance multiplier of 7, meeting the maximum allowed under Japan’s revised Building Standard Law. It is one of the narrowest yet structurally efficient systems under development for residential use in Japan’s urban housing market.
  • Canada Wood Japan hosted B.C. Chief Forester Shane Berg, for a series of meetings with Japanese government officials, industry partners, and media. The visit highlighted B.C.’s climate resilience strategies and reaffirmed the importance of the Japanese market for Canadian forest products.
  • Canada Wood led a video project in Alberta, with support from the Alberta government, to highlight the journey of SPF lumber and OSB from forest to export. Filmed at Weyerhaeuser, West Fraser, and Canfor mills—the videos will promote Canada’s sustainable wood practices to Japanese customers and industry partners.

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Forestry

Prince Edward Island wildland firefighters heading to Saskatchewan and Manitoba

By Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action
Government of Prince Edward Island
June 2, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Ten forest firefighters from the Island are in Saskatchewan to help with the wildfire situation in that province. There are also two Island forestry staff in Manitoba assisting with fires there in safety roles. The province continues to be in a good position to respond to forest fire inside or outside of provincial borders. The Government of Prince Edward Island has more than 55 staff trained in wildland firefighting, including foresters, forest technicians, wildlife technicians, and others who have fire response as part of their duties. The team heading to Saskatchewan includes wildfire students who will be embedded with more experienced firefighters to hone their skills.

In related news: Canadian Press in CTV: Quebec sends aid to Alberta and Manitoba

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Forests Canada says its on track to plant its 50 millionth tree this year

CBC News
May 29, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Jessica Kaknevicius

The organization Forests Canada says it’s on track to reach its goal of planting 50 million trees by the end of this year. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty made that pledge in 2007, saying that figure would be reached by 2025. Forests Canada CEO Jess Kaknevicius says its efforts are in addition to trees planted after logging operations, which are legally required under the Crown Forest Sustainability Act. “So the 50-million tree program is outside of any legally obligated area,” she said. Forests Canada’s goals are to plant more trees in what it calls “settled landscapes,” which include shelter belts around farmland. …Kaknevicius said Forests Canada relies on funding from different levels of government, along with donations to fund its tree-planting efforts. Kaknevicius said she estimates that trees planted by logging companies under the Crown Forest Sustainability Act are also in the millions each year.

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Edmonton braces for pest that has decimated ash tree populations to east, west

By Jackie Carmichael
Edmonton Journal
June 2, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Traps are expected to go up around Edmonton this week to capture the emerald ash borer. The shining and dangerous pest is poised to wreak havoc on Edmonton’s $400-million population of ash trees, and the city has two staffers working full time to detect any advance here as the invasive bug closes in from the west or east into Alberta. “We have the largest percentage of our urban forest canopy in green ash of almost any city in North America,” said Michael Jenkins, senior scientist with the City of Edmonton. Ranging from 8.5 mm to 14 mm long and 3.1 mm to 3.4 mm wide, the beetle is difficult to spot. “A single piece of firewood can destroy millions of trees,” warns a poster depicting a stack of ash firewood as dynamite sticks with an emerald ash borer at the tip of the fuse.

Related content:

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Launching Your Community Fireguard Project

Silvacom Ltd.
June 3, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Is your community prepared for the rising risk of wildfires? Join wildfire mitigation experts from Silvacom for an insightful webinar on launching effective Community Fireguard projects. This session is designed to equip you with the knowledge to protect people, infrastructure, and vital ecosystems. Learn how Fireguards serve as a critical front-line defense and understand the comprehensive process from initial concept to successful construction. Municipal Leaders, First Nations Representatives, Planners and Land Managers, and people involved in community wildfire preparedness and mitigation in Alberta are encouraged to attend. Highlights: 

  • Understanding fireguards and their effectiveness in reducing wildfire spread. 
  • Comprehensive guidance on planning, permitting, and constructing a fireguard. 
  • Strategies for addressing regulatory processes and fostering community engagement. 
  • Real-world case studies from municipalities and First Nations across Alberta. 
  • How Silvacom can assist your organization at every stage – from planning to implementation. 
  • Engage directly with environmental professionals and get your questions answered. 

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The fight for B.C.’s old growth comes to Victoria’s silver screens

By Evan Lindsay
Victoria News
June 2, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

From the front lines of Fairy Creek to the silver screen comes a new documentary capturing the fight for B.C.’s old-growth. Fairy Creek is a new documentary from Jen Muranetz, an award-winning documentary filmmaker and visual storyteller based out of Vancouver, B.C. The film tells the story of the Fairy Creek blockade protests, which made headlines nationwide as one of the largest acts of civil disobedience in Canadian History. “With unique insider access and use of in-the-trenches cinema vérité, Fairy Creek offers an intimate, fly-on-the-wall view of collective resistance,” said Nicole Trask, of Pender PR.  “Viewers are brought into the throes of this complex standoff, where blockaders form barriers with their bodies and tree-sitters’ forest canopies are assailed by police officers deployed from helicopters.” Murantez tells the story from the frontlines, presenting an “intimate, fly-on-the-wall” view of the resistance – from the retaliation of forestry workers, to rising tensions and arrests.

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Quesnel hosts Future of Forestry Think Tank

Quesnel Cariboo Observer
May 30, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

After two devastating wildfire seasons in a row, 2017 and 2018, the Quesnel Future of Forestry Thank Tank was created as a community-led opportunity to discuss challenges and opportunities in the area’s forest landscape, manufacturing sector and workforce. The think tank’s goal is to rethink the regional forest sector and revitalize the region’s ecosystems and economy linked to forests. The 2025 theme was “accelerating change” and saw over 50 delegates from the city, First Nations, academia, the industry and more  to discuss forestry. …The Quesnel Future of Forestry Think Tank investigates: How to restore regional forest ecosystem to a state of resiliency and adaptability that will stop large scale pest infestations and wildfires from recurring? How to reinvent manufacturing facilities in the region be to address the decline in sawlog availability and non-sawlog commercial forest fibre? Training to ensure the local workforce is employed in good paying jobs in the City and in the surrounding forests?

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BC community forest group gathers in Nanaimo

CHLY 101.7FM
May 30, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Jennifer Gunter

The British Columbia Community Forest Association gathered in Nanaimo for a three day conference this week, Midcoast Morning explores the state of community forests in the province with the group’s executive director, Jennifer Gunter. Fast forward to the 13:20 minute mark for the interview with Jennifer.

In related coverage, in the Sunshine Coast Reporter: Sunshine Coast Community Forest wins provincial excellence award

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‘No end in sight’ for systematic killing of BC wolves to save caribou

By Rochelle Baker
The National Observer
June 2, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The BC government spent a decade killing wolves to protect caribou. Now, critics warn that despite questions about its effectiveness, ethics and impact on the rest of the environment, the government is moving to make the wolf cull a permanent part of its strategy. Launched as a short-term emergency measure in 2015, the decade-long wolf cull is a morally outrageous tactic to divert public attention from the root cause of caribou declines — the province’s failure to significantly address habitat destruction — said Pacific Wild co-founder Ian McAllister. …The future for caribou and wolves is looking even more dire given the federal and provincial plans to fast-track permitting and reduce environmental assessments for development, McAllister said. …The province is looking to make its “short-term emergency” measure of shooting wolves to protect caribou a permanent practice in lieu of protecting habitat, critics warn.

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Small but mighty Sunshine Coast community forest stepping up in local economy

By the Ministry of Forests
Government of British Columbia
May 30, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

The Sunshine Coast Community Forest is being recognized for its excellence in forestry and its effect on the community, receiving the 2025 Robin Hood Memorial Award for Excellence in Community Forestry on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. “When you hear about local leaders and the incredible benefits they bring to their community through forestry, you can just tell this is what the future of forestry looks like,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests. “The Sunshine Coast Community Forest is this future and is leading with a community-first approach that weaves together local economic resiliency with healthy forests to support those who call the Sunshine Coast home.” …“It means a lot to us to be recognized among the many exceptional community forests in B.C.,” said Sara Zieleman, executive director, Sunshine Coast Community Forest. …The Robin Hood Memorial Award for Excellence in Community Forestry was established in 2016 to honour the life and legacy of the late Robin Hood. 

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Helicopter logging proposed for Powell Lake

By Paul Galinski
The Powell River Peak
May 29, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

qathet Regional District’s planning committee is recommending the regional board express no objection to a Western Forest Products helicopter logging operation on Powell Lake. At the May 27 planning committee meeting, directors considered a recommendation to advise the provincial ministry of water, land and resource stewardship that the regional district has no objection to the crown land application for a licence of occupation for the purpose of industrial log handling and storage on the northern arm of the lake. Electoral Area A director and committee chair Jason Lennox said there was a detailed staff report on the application. “I’m in support of the recommendation,” said Lennox. “If you read the report, it’s a three-year activity for harvesting into the lake. You will see the different due diligence pieces in there around mitigation measures to the environment; the Powell Region Cabin Owners Association was consulted as well.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

BC climate action has reduced emissions, with economic success

By Mark Zacharias (SFU) & Rachel Doran (Clean Energy Canada)
Business in Vancouver
June 1, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

Seventeen years on and the evidence is clear: B.C. has moved the needle on emissions. While the province’s population has grown 25% over this period, carbon emissions between 2008 and 2023 are down almost 5% — or nearly 7% if you measure from 2018, when CleanBC was announced. …BC’s industrial sectors, spurred by provincial regulation and investments, have done much of the heavy lifting. Heavy industries, including mining, smelting, pulp and paper, cement, steel, gypsum, and chemicals and fertilizers have seen emission declines of 16% over this period, while oil and gas production emissions are down 30%. …Admittedly, not everything is good news. The province is not on track to meet its 2030 climate target, and many CleanBC policies — including the oil and gas emissions cap, capping emissions from natural gas utilities and the clean transportation action plan — remain incomplete. …BC has announced a review of its CleanBC plan to be completed this fall. 

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Most of Western Canada’s glaciers ‘doomed’ to disappear, researchers find

By Stefan Labbe
Business in Vancouver
May 31, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West, International

Climate change has put Western Canada’s glaciers on track for devastating loss over the coming decades, with the southern half of BC expected to lose nearly 75% of the alpine ice — even if warming stops today, a new study has found. The planet has so far warmed an average of about 1.2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures. If that increase climbs to 1.5 degrees C, 81% of Western Canadian and US glacier mass would melt, according to the study published Thursday in the journal Science. …Harry Zekollari, the study’s lead author and a glaciologist at Belgium’s Vrije Universiteit Brussel, said the international research team used eight glacier computer models to analyze the potential long-term evolution of the year-round ice. The results painted a dire picture for the world’s glaciers, as the planet has already locked in enough warming to melt 40% of the Earth’s year-round ice by the end of the century.

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Health & Safety

American and Canadian Lung Associations Again Join Forces to Reduce the Health Impacts of Wildfire Smoke

By Canadian Lung Association
Cision Newswire
June 3, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, United States

CHICAGO and OTTAWA, ON – As devastating wildfires continue to increase throughout North America, the American and Canadian Lung Associations are collaborating for a second year to raise awareness about the health risks associated with wildfire smoke, educate people on how to protect themselves, and promote strategies to mitigate the occurrence of catastrophic wildfires. …To protect residents in both countries from the harmful health impacts of wildfires, the American Lung Association and the Canadian Lung Association are once again working together, concentrating their efforts on three key areas: awareness, education and advocacy.

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Smoke from Canadian wildfires triggers air quality alerts in Midwest and Plains

By Aria Bendix
NBC News
June 1, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, United States

Smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to blanket parts of the Midwest and Great Plains, leading to air quality alerts across several states. More than 90 fires scattered across Canada are burning out of control, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, a nonprofit that supports the government’s wildfire response. Active fires in the central Canadian province of Manitoba have forced roughly 17,000 people to evacuate. Winds high in the atmosphere pushed that smoke into the Upper Midwest on Friday, and the plumes continued to travel southeast over the weekend, reaching as far as the Georgia-Florida border. Some U.S. states may experience poor air quality through Monday, meaning sensitive groups such as pregnant people, newborns, older adults or those with respiratory or heart problems should limit their time outdoors. People in the affected areas may notice a campfire smell and hazy skies, as well as colorful sunrises and sunsets.

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Thousands evacuated in 3 provinces as Canadian wildfires threaten air quality into some US states

By Julie Walker
The Associated Press
June 1, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, United States

FLIN FLON, Manitoba — More than 25,000 residents in three provinces have been evacuated as dozens of wildfires remained active Sunday and diminished air quality in parts of Canada and the US, according to officials. Most of the evacuated residents were from Manitoba, which declared a state of emergency last week. About 17,000 people there were evacuated by Saturday along with 1,300 in Alberta. About 8,000 people in Saskatchewan had been relocated as leaders there warned the number could climb. Smoke was worsening air quality and reducing visibility in Canada and into some US states along the border. “Air quality and visibility due to wildfire smoke can fluctuate over short distances and can vary considerably from hour to hour,” Saskatchewan’s Public Safety Agency warned Sunday. “As smoke levels increase, health risks increase.” …In some parts of the U.S., air quality reached “unhealthy” levels Sunday in North Dakota and small swaths of Montana, Minnesota and South Dakota.

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Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment Responds to the Devastating Wildfires in Central Canada

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment
May 30, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

Saskatoon & Winnipeg In response to the devastating wildfires threatening communities in central Canada. Dr. Murray Opdahl, a family physician and co-chair of CAPE Saskatchewan said, “It’s a dark day in … with so many of our communities at risk from these devastating wildfires. Wildfires and wildfire smoke pose immediate safety risks, and can have long-lasting impacts on people’s health and mental health. Our communities need immediate support during this crisis. We also need bold action to stop these wildfires from continuing to get worse each year. The science is clear: these increasingly severe wildfires are directly linked to climate change driven by fossil fuel emissions. What we’re witnessing isn’t natural; it’s the result of human activity warming our planet. I’m calling on all governments to take immediate action to protect people on the frontlines of this crisis—and to declare their commitment to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to safer alternatives.”

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Forest Fires

US Department of Agriculture sends wildfire resource help to Canada

KIRO 7
June 1, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, United States

WASHINGTON D.C. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service has sent resources to Canada as wildfires spread across multiple parts of the country. On May 29, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center raised its wildfire preparedness level as Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Alberta, Canada, have seen very high wildfire activity. “We are here to help our neighbors during their time of need, and our Forest Service Wildland Firefighters are the best in the business,” said Brooke L. Rollins, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

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No relief in sight from wildfires as 20 Saskatchewan communities under evacuation orders

By Aishwarya Dudha
CBC News
June 1, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Wildfires in Saskatchewan are expected to continue to grow aggressively during the next few days, fuelled by high temperatures, winds and dry conditions. And there’s no sign of relief in sight, according to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency. “This will drastically impact our ability to contain some of these fires and will actually cause some of these fires to grow in size over the next period of time,” Steve Roberts, SPSA vice-president of operations, said Sunday. As of Sunday afternoon, 15 fires were burning in the province, down from 17 because two fires have merged and some small fires have been contained, the SPSA said. Roberts said 20 communities are under an evacuation order as of  Sunday. The latest evacuation orders have been in Sturgeon Landing and Timber Bay. Thousands of people have already been displaced from their homes in communities including Hall Lake, Pelican Narrows, Creighton, Denare Beach and Weyakwin.

Related content:

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There’s a wildfire crisis in Western Canada. Why is this happening so early in the season?

By Tiffany Crawford
Vancouver Sun
May 31, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

It’s not yet summer, but out-of-control wildfires are raging across Western Canada, fuelled by drought, warmer temperatures and lack of rainfall. Residents in northeastern BC, near Kelly Lake, have fled their homes, as Manitoba and Saskatchewan declared provincial emergencies this week. As of Friday, wildfires in Manitoba had displaced more than 17,000 people. Thousands more have been given evacuation orders because of wildfires in Saskatchewan and Alberta, including 1,300 residents of Swan Hills, a community northwest of Edmonton. …“We did see similar early-season activity like this in the far northeast in 2023 and in 2024 in BC,” said Budd. “That’s really the result of prolonged drought in the region that goes back as early as 2022.” …Manitoba is also facing a dire situation. The Flin Flon fire, located on the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border near Creighton, started at a landfill before crossing over the Manitoba border. It has grown to more than 200 square kilometres.

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Wildfire contained near Flin Flon, Man.; Saskatchewan hamlet ordered to evacuate

Canadian Press
June 1, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Fire crews in northern Manitoba have so far been able to contain an encroaching wildfire that forced thousands from their homes, while more residents in Saskatchewan have been told to leave due to a fast-moving blaze. The Saskatchewan government issued an evacuation alert Sunday morning for the dozens of residents that live in the hamlet of Timber Bay. Residents were told to leave the community on their own and head south to a hotel in Regina, about 484 kilometres away, to receive further support. …Approximately 80 people from Timber Bay are the latest to be forced from their homes. In Manitoba, some 17,000 Manitobans have had to leave their homes due to fires. Officials in Flin Flon, Man., where a nearby out-of-control wildfire crews have been trying to keep a nearby blaze at bay, said the fire burning near the mining city has been contained to outside its perimeter highway…

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Cool temperatures, chance of rain as crews battle wildfires near Flin Flon, Man.

The Canadian Press
June 2, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

FLIN FLON, Manitoba – Cooler temperatures and a chance of rain this week is expected in a northwestern Manitoba city that’s had to evacuate thousands of people due to wildfire. Environment Canada says temperatures in the mid teens to mid 20s are forecasted this week, with a good chance of rain coming Saturday in Flin Flon. Fire crews have been trying to keep a blaze near Flin Flon at bay, and have said the fire has been contained to outside its perimeter highway. Crews say there have been no structures lost due to the wildfire. More than 17,000 people have been displaced by wildfires in Manitoba, including 5,000 from Flin Flon. Thousands have been affected by wildfires across the Prairie provinces, with Saskatchewan issuing an evacuation alert Sunday morning for dozens of residents in the small northern community of Timber Bay, located about 260 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon. [END]

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‘This is classic climate change’: Sask. faces worst wildfire season in decades

By Aliyah Marko-Omene
CBC News
June 1, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Saskatchewan is battling the worst wildfire it’s seen in decades — including the 300,000-hectare Shoe Fire in northern Saskatchewan — and experts say it’s largely caused by climate change. “This is classic climate change,” said Colin Laroque, head of soil science and professor at the University of Saskatchewan. Laroque said climatology is studied using 30-year timeframes of weather patterns, which “weren’t that different” until recently. …”These are things that we traditionally saw more in June, July and later summer, when everything dried out and then the fires took off,” Laroque said. Saskatchewan is making its way out of a relatively dry period. Few places had snow for long periods of time over winter. In the past, “snowpacks” would take time to fully melt and trickle into the ground as it warmed up. This would recharge the moisture of the soil.

In related coverage: In the CBC No relief in sight as 20 Sask. communities under evacuation orders

Brandon Sun, by Tom Brodbeck: Climate change a ‘right now’ problem

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Wildfires prompt air quality statements across northwestern Ontario as evacuations continue

By Sarah Law
CBC News
June 2, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

A number of special air quality statements are in effect across northwestern Ontario, as wildfire activity remains rampant throughout the region. Statements were issued early Monday morning for well over a dozen communities, including several First Nations… “Wildfire smoke is expected to move into the area early this morning and may remain in place for the next several days for some areas,” the statements say. “As smoke levels increase, health risks increase. Limit time outdoors.” Evacuations are continuing in Deer Lake First Nation and Webequie First Nation. Meanwhile, members of Wabaseemoong Independent Nations have been under an evacuation order since mid-May. Webequie First Nation first declared a state of emergency on Thursday. Chief Cornelius Wabasse said high demands for aircraft in other communities affected by wildfires delayed his community’s evacuation. “There is a shortage of planes and also other resources,” Wabasse said on Monday morning.

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Wildfire activity persists in northern Ontario

By Dan Bertrand
CTV News
June 2, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) continues to monitor wildfires across the province, with varying conditions in the northeast and northwest regions. While some fires have been brought under control, others remain active, prompting ongoing suppression efforts and precautionary measures. The northeast region reports two active wildfires, with one recently contained. Sudbury 13, a 0.5-hectare fire near Wikwemikong that was identified on Saturday, was declared out Sunday morning. Cochrane 2, an 8-hectare fire northwest of Attawapiskat, is now under control. Cochrane 3, burning 48 kilometres west of Attawapiskat, remains not under control at 150 hectares. Though the MNR confirms no immediate threats to communities or infrastructure at this time. The northwest region remains a focal point, with 15 active fires and persistent high-risk conditions.

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Nova Scotia wildfire season off to a slow start after cool, wet spring

By Danielle Edwards
CBC News
May 31, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

The wildfire season in Nova Scotia has been off to a “slow” start, according to the manager of forest protection with the province’s natural resources department. Scott Tingely told CBC News that so far, the number of fires and the amount of hectares burned are both below average at this point. “We had a pretty cool, wet spring so far, so that has certainly helped kind of mitigate the conditions and the risk,” Tingley said. As of Thursday, 39 fires have burned about 35 hectares across the province so far. …The wildfire situation in Nova Scotia has changed rapidly over the last week, according to data from Natural Resources Canada. On Tuesday, the department listed the fire danger across most of the province as low. And as of Thursday, that classification was raised to high for the bulk of the mainland and Cape Breton.

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