OTTAWA — Canada has dropped two legal challenges of United States duties on Canadian softwood lumber. …The Wall Street Journal first reported this week that Canada dropped long-standing appeals earlier this month of two U.S. anti-dumping reviews dating back to the previous decade. The US undertakes administrative reviews each year to set the level of duties. Canada has regularly challenged those orders. Global Affairs Canada spokeswoman Dina Destin said that the decision to drop the two appeals was made “in close consultation with Canadian industry, provinces and key partners, and it reflects a strategic choice to maximize long-term interests and prospects for a negotiated resolution with the United States.” She said Canada still believes U.S. anti-dumping duties on softwood lumber are unfair and Ottawa is still pursuing six other legal challenges on the matter.
- Related coverage by Brent Jang in the Globe & Mail: US alleges Canada is subsidizing softwood industry with $1.2-billion in funding
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Terrace, a small town nestled in the foothills of the mountains of BC, boomed in the 1920s, shipping Canadian cedar for telephone lines and power cables across the globe. But today local sawmill owners such as Warren Gavronsky are on the front line of a crisis hitting the country’s US$63bn forestry industry as a result of US duties and a slowdown in the world’s largest economy. …Canada’s forest products industry is one of the country’s largest employers, operating in hundreds of communities and providing 200,000 direct jobs. …Ottawa this week quietly withdrew two challenges to US anti-dumping duties on softwood lumber, a “strategic choice” aimed at improving relations with Washington, said Canada’s foreign ministry. The issue for US housebuilders, according to Gavronsky, is that they need softwood lumber. …The US industry accuses its Canadian rivals of dumping because they have no other market to sell into and it is convenient to ship it across the border.
Canada withdrew challenges against some import taxes the US levied against softwood lumber in what the government called a “strategic choice,” as Prime Minister Carney seeks a trade deal with President Trump. The government has revoked two separate claims disputing US anti-dumping duties on softwood lumber based on trading between June 2017 and December 2019, according to Canada’s Global Affairs department. “Canada has made this decision in close consultation with Canadian industry, provinces and key partners, and it reflects a strategic choice to maximize long-term interests and prospects for a negotiated resolution with the US,” John Babcock said. …The move follows a pattern of Carney’s government trying to remove so-called trade irritants in pursuit of a wider settlement with the Trump administration, which has erected tariffs against key Canadian industries like steel and autos, as well as a 35% “emergency” tariff against other goods if they aren’t compliant with the US-Mexico-Canada trade deal. 
Canada is expected to announce it’s launching formal consultations on the North American trade pact within the next week, after the Trump administration kicked off its own review and the US ambassador said a larger deal is “not going to happen” soon. Canada-US Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc’s office said the government is expected to imminently post an official notice seeking the public’s comments and feedback about the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). In preparation for the review, “Canada will be engaging with Canadian industry leaders, provinces and territories and Indigenous partners,” LeBlanc’s office said. The US announced Tuesday it’s formally starting consultations to evaluate the agreement’s results over the past five years. …The formal negotiations to review CUSMA could begin in early 2026. …The prime minister and several ministers are headed to Mexico… an effort to shore up support ahead of the CUSMA review.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is embarking on a pivotal meeting with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, just as the United States officially launches the process to review the North American trade agreement. The Office of the US Trade Representative will seek public comments on the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) over 45 days and has scheduled a public hearing in November. Public consultation is required by law and is a clear sign that the Trump administration is preparing to renegotiate, not just review, the trilateral agreement, says Eric Miller, president of Rideau Potomac Strategy Group. Under the current agreement, Canada’s trade with the U.S. is 85% tariff free, but that could change when CUSMA expires next June. …It’s under this pressure that Carney is meeting with Sheinbaum to 
VANCOUVER — Canfor Corporation announced that its 77%-owned subsidiary, Vida AB, has completed the acquisition of AB Karl Hedin Sågverk. The transaction, 
The new owners of the Coulson Manufacturing Mill (formerly operated by the San Group) say they are anxious to get the mill back up and running after purchasing the Port Alberni facility in a court-approved sale in June of this year. The mill will act as a stand-alone operation named Coulson Sawmills and will be managed by Jovan and Ajit Gill, but are connected at arms length with Fraserview Cedar on the Lower Mainland. “This is the next generation of Gills that have bought this and their plan is to go up there and get their own relationship,” says Fraserview Chief Executive Officer Gary Gill. Plans are to get the operation going near the beginning of November but the company’s first priority is to build up a long-term log deck so that the mill can run continuously with a healthy supply of logs. That’s a problem that Gary Gill says is facing other mills as well.
CAMPBELL RIVER — Several mayors from across BC have united to advocate for resource development by creating the Alliance of Resource Communities, with Campbell River’s mayor at the helm. “It’s time for an alliance of community leaders from all corners of the province to come together and strongly advocate for a secure and brighter economic future through the responsible development of our abundant natural resources,” said Mayor Kermit Dahl at the Get it Done conference on Sept. 22, which was hosted by Resource Works. “While it’s encouraging that the federal and provincial governments are becoming more vocal in support of major projects, thousands of people in my community who rely on natural resource industries face an uncertain future,” said Dahl, referring to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s pledge to fast-track nation-building projects and the recent announcement of five major infrastructure projects.
British Columbia’s forestry industry is “under pressure from all sides,” prompting the provincial government to bring in changes to expand the role of BC Timber Sales, including allowing some communities to manage their own forest resources. Forests Minister Ravi Parmar says attacks from US President Trump, “increasingly intense” wildfires and climate change all put extra pressure on the industry. A review of the work done by BC Timber Sales, an organization that manages 20% of Crown timber, has generated 54 recommendations in a plan to help support a thriving forest economy. One of the key recommendations includes expanding three community forests in Vanderhoof, Fraser Lake and Fort St. James. …Parmar said he wants the changes implemented as quickly as possible, but a number of them will require legislative change to move forward. Parmar said the B.C. forestry sector is also looking to expand into other foreign markets.
MERRITT, BC — Aspen Planers has halted operations at its Merritt sawmill and planer facility for an undetermined period, citing what it calls a lack of available logs and rising costs that have made continued production unsustainable. “Simply put, our mill lacks logs,” said regional manager Surinder Momrath. “Our Lillooet veneer plant has also curtailed operations for the same reason. These two closures are linked given that we source logs from both our Merritt and Lillooet forest licenses – and the saw logs are processed in Merritt while the plywood ‘peeler’ logs are processed in Lillooet.” The company pointed to an inability to obtain cutting permits under its AAC. Aspen Planers’ licenses provide for 490,000 cubic metres, but over the past two and a half years the company has only harvested 29% of that amount. …He says the shortage stems from provincial policy decisions, including Indigenous co-governance under DRIPA and old growth initiatives.
“The BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI)… is encouraged to see recognition of the urgency to ‘increase performance, move more fibre, and better serve the current client base, including the primary sector.’ To create the stability, certainty, and predictability needed, we urge government to prioritize and fast track the Task Force’s recommendations that focus on increasing wood flow to manufacturers across the province. While BCTS has consistently underperformed in its core function of delivering wood supply to the market, the government is choosing to expand its mandate and propose additional volumes be allocated to BCTS. …COFI is pleased to see harvest targets in Recommendation 17, however, the proposal to increase the BCTS volumes by only 1 million m³ per year is not ambitious enough to meet the government’s Major Project commitment to reach a 45 million m³ harvest.
The union representing thousands of forest-industry workers on the coast is calling for a united effort to address a growing crisis in the sector. Brian Butler, president of United Steelworkers Local 1-1937, says government, industry, First Nations and the union need a plan to resolve the issues that remain under the province’s control. He said members of the union, which represents 5,500 workers on the coast, are being hit hard with layoffs, most of which are either due to market conditions or lack of available logs. “Right now, as we see it, stakeholders work independently in their own silos, rather than collectively,” he said. On Monday, Western Forest Products, which supports about 3,300 jobs on the coast, announced that curtailments at its Chemainus sawmill will be extended until the end of the year. …Butler said there are plenty more examples of trouble in the sector around the Island.
Western Forest Products announced planned temporary operating curtailments at its BC sawmills during the fourth quarter of 2025. These planned curtailments, combined with temporary curtailments taken in Q3 of 2025, will collectively reduce lumber production by ~50 million board feet in the second half of 2025, amounting to ~6% of the Company’s annual lumber capacity. The curtailments are in response to persistently weak market conditions, further impacted by increases in US lumber duties. In addition, certain factors relating to the operating environment, including a lack of available economic log supply, ongoing harvesting permitting delays and the strike by the United Steelworkers Local 1-1937 at our La-kwa sa muqw Forestry Limited Partnership are also contributing factors. The temporary curtailments will be taken through a combination of reduced operating hours, an extended holiday break and reconfigured shifting schedules. The Chemainus sawmill, which was curtailed for the third quarter of 2025, will remain temporarily curtailed for the fourth quarter. 
Campbell River, British Columbia: La-kwa sa muqw Forestry Limited Partnership (LKSM) has been working to bring closure to the strike, which began on June 6, 2025, in a way that supports strong, positive, and enduring relationships between First Nations and other participants in the forestry sector in their territories and allows everyone to move forward together. Despite LKSM’s repeated efforts to achieve a negotiated resolution—including multiple applications for mediation and requests for special government intervention, the USW has continued to refuse both direct bargaining and third-party mediation. This now leaves legal action as the only available recourse to advance the interests of all parties and communities affected by the dispute. …This situation has left LKSM with no other option than to pursue a legal remedy that will remove this impediment to progress and enable resumption of negotiations.
Ontario’s Associate Minister of Forestry and Forest Products announced over $5 million in funding today for Interfor Sault Ste. Marie at the company’s mill on Peoples Road. 
TORONTO – The Ontario government is investing over $3.5 million through the 
The SLB’s Board of Directors has approved a 
WASHINGTON
The American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) is pressing lawmakers to advance federal wildfire legislation, warning that inaction risks worsening losses for communities nationwide. …Sam Whitfield explained that federal reforms are essential to reduce wildfire risks, strengthen community resilience and protect lives and property. The House has passed its version of the Fix Our Forests Act, or H.R. 471, in January. In April, a companion bill, or S. 1462, was introduced in the Senate. Both bills align with recommendations from the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission. Provisions include reducing fuel loads in forests and rangelands, preventing utility infrastructure from sparking fires through vegetation management, and promoting community wildfire risk reduction. …The insurance industry has faced mounting wildfire-related losses. …Insurers have responded by tightening underwriting standards, reducing capacity in wildfire-exposed areas, and relying more heavily on reinsurance to absorb catastrophic risks.
HORRY COUNTY, S.C. — A family-owned sawmill plans to create 18 jobs by opening a multi-million facility in northern Horry County amid high-profile shutdowns of other sites across the region. “This facility will support area businesses impacted by recent closures, and we’re proud to expand our services and give back to the region that has supported us,” Matthew Johnson, founder of Galivants Ferry Sawmill, said in a news release shared on Facebook by the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation. In August, Canfor closed its Darlington and Estill plants — eliminating 290 jobs in a move it blamed on “an extended period of consistently weak market conditions.” And in December, Georgetown County’s International Paper ended operations, cutting 674 jobs. The Galivants Ferry facility on McCracken Road will support the local timber industry and help fill the gap left by those closures
