In the face of the unjustified economic attack by the leader of our U.S. neighbours, Canadian Forest Owners (CFO) stand fast as your good neighbours, who are committed to sustainable forest management for resilient, thriving communities coast to coast. Last week’s announced tariffs on Canada’s wood products by U.S. President Trump will harm not just forest landowners but local mills, workers and their families, communities, especially rural ones, and customers on both sides of the border. Together we stand firm with our colleagues in industry and the federal and provincial governments to strengthen the Canadian forest sector and work to bolster family woodlots and the economies of rural communities.

As your neighbours in thousands of communities across Canada, CFO members are often the closest and fastest line of defense when wildfires threaten a community. Many private forest owners interface rural and urban communities and are ready with firefighting equipment to protect forestland from wildfires. They are also positioned to assist with land restoration projects. CFO looks forward to working with government to increase understanding of the current contributions of private forestland management in natural disaster mitigation and further implement best practices on private lands across the country.