Trudeau says talk with Trump was ‘colourful’ but trade war will last for foreseeable future. Related headlines include:
- Global News: New duties strain BC’s lumber industry
- CBC News: New Brunswick on edge as duties pile up
- Canadian Press: Kruger delays expansion decision, withholds guidance
- CBC News: Kap Paper pulp & paper business already in a difficult place
- Globe & Mail: Lumber prices hit two-year high as US investigates Canada
- Builder: US National Association of Homebuilders is hyper focused on tariffs
- Globe & Mail: Canadian insurance premiums put pressure on building costs
In related news: Canada requests World Trade Organization consultations; USMCA negotiators launch advocacy group for free trade; how Canada’s construction business can adapt to tariffs; and Canada’s counter tariffs come with procurement complications.
In Forestry news: BC lumber producers still face fibre shortages; Steelworkers urge BC to increase fibre supply; 5,600 fired USDA employees to be rehired; what Trump’s push for more logging means for Oregon and Wyoming; William Nikolakis wins UBC Faculty of Forestry Outstanding Research Award; and Dakota College at Bottineau receives SFI Leadership in Education Award.
Finally, BC’s Evans Lake Forestry Education Society launches its online fundraising auction.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News
Canadian homeowners can expect to face higher premiums when they renew their home insurance, as new U.S. tariffs add pressure on property and casualty insurers by raising the cost of building materials and appliances. …The tariffs placed by Mr. Trump on building materials such as aluminum, steel and lumber will add extra costs for insurers to the goods used in replacing and repairing homes, cars and businesses, Brett Weltman, spokesperson for the Insurance Bureau of Canada, said. “While we don’t yet have a precise picture of the scope of these effects, over time, tariffs will hurt consumers and families on both sides of the border,” he said. …Bill Premdas, executive director of KPMG’s Canadian insurance practice, said a prolonged tariff battle with the U.S. could put pressure on claims costs as many of the resources used to rebuild and repair homes are covered by cross-border trade agreements. [Globe and Mail subscription required for full access to this story]
VICTORIA – The United Steelworkers union (USW) acknowledges the difficult position facing the B.C. government in its 2025 budget and applauds the thoughtful, diligent focus on priorities by Minister of Finance Brenda Bailey. U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats and the imposition of tariffs have created uncertainty for important exports, including lumber, copper, zinc and other essential products. …“Workers are calling for action to grow and diversify the economy and supply chains, reducing dependence on the U.S. market while ensuring jobs in mining, critical minerals and processing, forestry and lumber manufacturing,” said Scott Lunny, USW Western Canada Director. …B.C. should prepare for a wave of layoffs in the forest sector due to rising duties. …The USW is urging the B.C. government to increase the supply of fibre and streamline the permitting process in the logging sector to support the primary industry and facilitate ongoing efforts to expand manufacturing, Mass Timber and other value-added industries.
BEIJING – China suspended on Tuesday the soybean import licenses of three U.S. firms and halted imports of U.S. lumber, stepping up retaliatory action after the United States imposed additional tariffs on Chinese goods. Earlier in the day, China also imposed import levies covering $21 billion worth of U.S. agricultural and food products… Customs said it detected ergot and seed coating agent in imported U.S. soybeans while the suspension of U.S. lumber imports was due to the detection of small worms, aspergillus and other pests. …Beijing’s retaliatory measures were in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose an extra 10% duty on China, effective Tuesday, resulting in a cumulative 20% tariff in response to what the White House considers Chinese inaction over drug flows. …The suspension of U.S. lumber was a direct response to Trump’s move on March 1 to order a trade investigation on imported lumber. 
The B.C. Council of Forest Industries (COFI) welcomed B.C.’s responses to American tariffs, but questioned aspects of the provincial budget tabled Tuesday. B.C.’s forests minister, meanwhile, is calling on Ottawa to step up supports. Kim Haakstad, president and CEO of COFI, said her organization welcomes the budget’s focus on responding to new tariffs announced March 4. “We are disappointed by the absence of dedicated support for the forest sector,” Haakstad said. “As Premier (David) Eby and (Forests) Minister (Ravi) Parmar have acknowledged, the forest sector will be particularly hard hit by the new tariffs at a time when the industry is already facing significant challenges. These broad-based tariffs apply to all forest product exports … adding further pressure on workers, companies and communities already affected by softwood lumber duties.” …COFI remains committed to working with the government to advance solutions that strengthen the forestry sector, improve the provincial economy and diversify markets. 
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump’s administration imposed new tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico while increasing existing tariffs on goods from China, a move expected to raise prices for new homes, according to a recent CoreLogic report. That’s largely because tariffs affect essential home construction materials, including wood products, cement, steel, aluminum and appliances, so homebuilding costs are projected to rise. As a result, construction costs could increase by 4% to 6% over the next 12 months, adding roughly $17,000 to $22,000 to the sticker prices for new homes, according to CoreLogic. With the cost of a newly constructed home averaging around $422,000, these added expenses may further strain affordability for first-time homebuyers, the study says.
CHINO, Calif. — Where some just see lumber, Marc Saracco, a sales manager at wholesale distributor Capital Lumber Company, sees the building blocks of new communities. Although with the 25% tariffs President Donald Trump is placing on imports from Mexico and Canada, Saracco said those building blocks are expected to get more expensive. “I estimate that the tariffs from appliances to lumber would cost a homeowner between $30,000 and $40,000 per house,” Saracco said. He said it could exacerbate the current housing shortage. “We as an industry rely heavily on what they produce. About 30% of the lumber that we consume in the United States comes from Canada,” Saracco said. …”You’re talking about $600 million just in the scale of the rebuild in additional tariffs to meet those 15,000 homes that absolutely need to be rebuilt,” Saracco said. …With domestic sawmills closing, Saracco said it would take 10 to 20 years before the U.S. can internally meet lumber demand. 
B.C.’s Ministry of Forests will pump $28 million into 74 wildfire-prevention projects across all eight of the province’s natural resource regions, an investment applauded by NDP MLAs given its nearly $3-million investment in Kootenay communities. Through the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC), 43 new and expanded fibre-recovery projects and 31 new and expanded wildfire-mitigation projects will receive the funding, with all 74 projects expected to be complete by end of March. …In the Kootenay natural resource region, some $2,854,000 is supporting seven projects. These include $1.6 million for Nk’Mip Forestry in Castlegar; $593,000 for the Slocan Integral Foresty Cooperative; $396,000 and $46,500 for the Nakusp and Area Community Forest in Nakusp and New Denver, respectively; $101,000 for the Harrop-Procter Community Co-operative; $96,500 for the West Kootenay Woodlot Association in Nelson; and $21,000 for the Creston Valley Forest Corporation.
Rick Maddison, who lost his home in the 2003 Okanagan Mountain wildfire, and Murray Wilson, a retired forester of Vernon have teamed up to create the film B.C. Is Burning, a documentary that focuses on solutions, rather than devastation. “I’m hoping if these ideas in the film are adopted, more communities can be protected from this ongoing threat,” said Maddison. The project began in 2024, and the team is looking to raise funds to help finish the project and distribute the film. …“We’ve spoken with some of the leading people in the field,” said Wilson. “Their insights could change how we manage our forests — and how we protect our communities.” The team is hoping to raise $45,000. Recognizing the film’s importance for B.C.’s future, Kelowna-based Homestead Foods, a local hydroponics and sustainable farming operation, has agreed to match donations up to $22,500 to fund the final stages and the launch of the documentary. To watch the trailer and donate, visit
Thousands of fired workers at the Department of Agriculture must get their jobs back for at least the next month and a half, the chair of a federal civil service board ruled Wednesday. The ruling said the recent dismissals of more than 5,600 probationary employees may have violated federal laws and procedures for carrying out layoffs. The decision from Cathy Harris, the chair of the Merit Systems Protection Board, is a blow to the Trump administration’s effort to drastically and quickly shrink the federal bureaucracy. Though it applies only to the USDA, it could lay the groundwork for further rulings reinstating tens of thousands of other probationary workers whom the Trump administration has fired en masse across the government. But it’s far from a final resolution of the legality of the mass terminations. 
Four conservation groups filed suit in January over the Round Star logging project west of Whitefish on the Tally Lake Ranger District. In the suit against the Flathead National Forest, the Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Council on Wildlife and Fish, Yellowstone to Uintas Connection and Native Ecosystems Council argue that the project is ill-conceived and encroaches on lynx, grizzly and elk habitat. “Lynx critical habitat is the worst place for clearcuts,” said Mike Garrity, executive director of the Alliance for the Wild Rockies, in a Jan. 9 press release. “The surest way to drive lynx to extinction is to continue massive deforestation of the West.” However, local loggers say that the lawsuit is a deterrence to the bigger picture of forest management. 
Legislation introduced by the Alabama Forestry Association would significantly worsen the condition of local and state roads and bridges, as well as hinder safety inspections of commercial vehicles. “The legislation is to allow significantly heavier axle weights to be hauled by large trucks — a move that is difficult to comprehend when the truckers already complain of sky-high liability insurance rates and serve as the primary target of advertising by personal injury law firms,” said Alabama Department of Transportation Deputy Director George Conner… “The math is simple: heavier truck axle weights are exceptionally dangerous and destroy roads and bridges; even heavier axle weights will be more dangerous and will destroy roads and bridges even more quickly.” …The Forestry Association’s proposal would increase the legal limit for a single axle from 20,000 pounds to 22,000 pounds while increasing the legal limit for two axles (tandem axles) from 34,000 pounds to 44,000 pounds.
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A Washington timber company has been fined nearly $115,000 for child labor violations after a 17-year-old worker was injured while working in a logging operation. The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries issued the citation against MVR Timber Cutting Inc. following an investigation into the incident. The investigation began in May 2024 when L&I received a report of a workplace injury involving the teen, who fractured his foot while jumping between tree stumps. Upon learning that the minor was working as a member of the company’s logging crew, L&I expanded its investigation. …In January, L&I fined MVR Timber Cutting Inc. $56,000 for allowing the minor to work in logging operations 56 times. State regulations prohibit minors under 18 from working in jobs requiring more extensive personal protective equipment than boots, gloves, and safety glasses. Additionally, state law bans teens from working in hard hat zones, prompting L&I to issue an additional $56,000 fine for the 56 violations of that regulation.
Authorities in Japan have warned that the country’s biggest wildfire in decades is likely to spread, after it damaged dozens of homes and forced more than 1,000 people to flee. Fires continued to rage a week after they broke out in the city of Ofunato, on the north-east coast, with weather officials speculating that this year’s unusually dry winter and strong winds were to blame. As of Monday, the fire had spread through about 2,100 hectares of land, damaged 84 homes and forced 1,200 residents to take refuge in school gymnasiums and other shelters. A further 2,000 are staying with friends or relatives. …More than 2,000 self-defence force [SDF] troops and firefighters have struggled to control the flames as they spread through heavily forested mountainous areas bordering Ofunato, which was among communities destroyed in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.