Derek Nighbor
Canada’s forestry sector, a long-time driver of investment and employment in Canada, is poised for a transformative comeback, according to Derek Nighbor, president and CEO of the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC). In a recent episode of Hub Dialogues, hosted by Sean Speer and presented in partnership with Forestry for the Future, Nighbor argued that the industry is shifting from a story of decline to one of innovation and growth, driven by new technologies, housing needs, and climate solutions. Here are five key takeaways from Nighbor’s vision for the future of Canadian forestry.
- Forestry is a high-tech, interconnected sector ready for innovation
- The industry will be a central player in solving the housing crisis
- Navigating trade turmoil while seeking new markets is key
- Forestry can be an economic and social anchor for rural and Indigenous communities
- Sustainable forestry is a nature-based climate solution
Industry leaders say they are disappointed with the additional 10% tariff on Canadian goods announced Saturday by US President Trump… over Ontario ad. Jean Simard of the Aluminum Association of Canada said that this announcement is “very unfortunate and uncalled for.” …“I don’t think it’s going to add anything to the situation that the U.S. will be facing moving into the fall season with prices that will be increased by these stacked up tariffs on everything that moves into the U.S.” A $75-million television ad from the Ontario government, featuring remarks by former US President Reagan on tariffs is what prompted Trump to announce he was ending trade discussions with Canada. …“We might see the same phenomenon that unfolded in the course of the months of July and August, where our metal started moving towards Europe instead of the U.S,” Simard said. 
President Trump said that he, personally, wants to attend next month’s Supreme Court hearing on his tariff policies. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments, beginning on November 5th, whether the president can unilaterally impose tariffs under emergency powers and is acting legally in his bypassing of Congress. The case involves the import tariffs against Canada, Mexico, and China, over allegations of fentanyl trafficking, as well as Trump’s reciprocal tariffs. …Canada is suffering under some of the toughest US tariff actions for some of its largest export sectors — the auto industry, along with steel, aluminum, and Canada’s softwood lumber. …John Weekes, one of the chief Canadian negotiators of the original North American Free Trade Agreement said a lot of Canadians seem to be holding onto hope that Trump’s tariff war will disappear when the USMCA is renegotiated next year. To that, John Weekes says don’t bet on it..png)
Efforts are underway to diversify and strengthen British Columbia’s forestry sector with a new office in London, England. The office will be a hub for BC’s forestry sector to expand its market share across Europe and the United Kingdom. “British Columbia is the second largest exporter of softwood lumber in the world, and with US President Trump’s continued attacks on our forestry workers and economy, we are not sitting idly by,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests. BC’s Crown corporation, Forestry Innovation Investment (FII), will be expanding its presence to the U.K. to work with the forestry industry there, around Europe, and eventually, select markets in the Middle East and northern Africa, to grow BC’s forestry sector footprint internationally. This new office will give B.C.’s forestry sector a representative to help expand growing wood markets in the UK and Europe. …This is the newest FII office, joining offices in China, India and Vietnam, and industry-led offices in Japan and South Korea.
The judges at New Brunswick’s highest court are wrestling with how to award costs in the first part of a massive and complex litigation that has entangled the province’s biggest landowners. The New Brunswick Court of Appeal heard arguments from three timber firms that successfully argued their case in preliminary motions in a lower court in the Wolastoqey Nation’s big title claim for about 60% of the province’s territory. …Lawyers for J.D. Irving, Acadian Timber, and H.J. Crabbe and Sons argued that because the case is so complex and important for the rights of all private properties in the disputed territory, they deserve a bigger payout. …The case is expected to cost millions over the years. This is one of the reasons the Liberals say they decided the government should settle the dispute. …The judge said the court would make its decision known at a later date.
Kapuskasing Mayor Dave Plourde says after receiving good news on Friday, Kap Paper is slowly getting up and running again. Plourde said the facility was idle for about six weeks after the board ran out of funds to pay employees. Now the community is relieved that the federal and provincial governments have stepped up with close to $29 million to get around 300 people back on the payroll. Plourde said work is underway to plan for the operation’s future. “We started yesterday on the commencement of that,” he said. “It had already been in the works prior to that, but we’re having regular updates and we’re going to make sure that we have something in front of government very soon.” Plourde, who is also chair of the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities, said the support is appreciated, but overall, northern Ontario’s forestry sector requires urgent and coordinated action to ensure long-term stability.
THUNDER BAY – Ontario’s MPPs are officially back at Queen’s Park for a new sitting of the provincial legislature, after breaking for the summer and forestry was top of mind for the region’s leaders. Opposition member Sol Mamakwa, MPP for Kiiwetinoong, questioned the Ford government on how they plan to help 160 unionized workers affected by the shutdown at the sawmill in Ear Falls. “Our government is disappointed of the news coming from Ear Falls. Immediately following the announcement of the mill, the premier and I reached out to company officials and Mayor (Kevin) Kahoot offering support for the workers and the community,” Associate Minister of Forestry and Forest Products Kevin Holland said. …The tariff hike contributed to ongoing market challenges in the sector forcing Interforb to suspend operations at the sawmill indefinitely.
Luke Lindberg, U.S. under secretary of agriculture for trade and foreign agricultural affairs with the USDA, in conjunction with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, has announced a three-point plan to increase exports, advance rural prosperity, and chip away at the trade deficit. The three-point plan includes:
PORT OF LONGVIEW, Washington — If Northwest Advanced Bio-Fuels has its way, the Port of Longview may soon have a $2.4 billion sustainable aviation fuel plant. But the mega-project to turn timber waste into jet fuel has faced a slew of challenges on its way to landing at the giant riverfront Barlow Point site, a deal that’s still not inked after nearly four years. The people behind Northwest Advanced Bio-Fuels say the project is mere weeks away from finding the financing needed to lock in a site and build the plant — the first of a handful of additional facilities around the region to fulfill Delta Airlines’ immense need for sustainable aviation fuel. To port officials, however, the project is one of about 20 that have considered its flagship Barlow Point site, any one of which could put money down today and start the long process of realizing a mega-project there tomorrow. 
…Arkansas’ forestry industry is feeling the weight of a slowing housing market, a declining demand for many of its products and trade disputes and regulations that have closed off foreign markets. In recent years, several mills in Arkansas have closed — evidence of economic struggles for the industry. In September, Domtar’s sawmill in Glenwood announced a temporary shut down, affecting 150 workers. Shields Wood Products also shut down. Arkansas House Speaker Brian Evans signed on to a letter … calling on Congress to step in and help expand the export market for their states’ foresters. …the Arkansas Economic Development Commission said the state exported $6.45 billion in forestry products in 2023, the largest destinations being Canada, Mexico and Japan. The letter from the state house speakers to Congress makes specific mention of the Chinese market, which cut off the import of logs from the U.S. in March as part of retaliation for American tariffs, Reuters reported. [Access to the full story may require a subscription to the Gazette]
LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas’ leading industry, agriculture, is facing a crisis. But it’s not just row-crop farmers that are struggling — the forestry industry is as well. The market for timber has become so bad that mills are closing and loggers are getting out of the business. “This is devastating to the timber industry in South Arkansas. Eight of the last 11 weeks, we have experienced mill closures in Arkansas, some permanent, some temporary,” said John Dawson, president of Arkansas Pulpwood Co. in Camden. “We’re seeing loggers drop out. Lifelong families that are two, three, four generations of loggers are getting out of the business. Banks in South Arkansas are moving away from loaning money to loggers,” Dawson said. As you’d expect, demand for paper has plummeted. …But demand for lumber is down too. …There’s simply too much supply for the diminishing demand.
TILLEDA, Wis. – A groundbreaking moment in Tilleda, with the introduction of the first chip mill in the United States purchased by a logger co-op, marking the start of a new chapter for the industry. “Because it’s the first of its kind in the country there were a lot of hoops that we had to go through first to figure out what it all looked like legally and logistically,” said Dennis Schoeneck, president of Timber Professionals Cooperation Enterprises. Founded five years ago, Timber Professionals Cooperation Enterprises aims to sustain and grow the timber industry. The co-op is made up of loggers and truckers, and it was those groups who helped raise the $418,000 that went towards the purchase of the mill. They don’t want to stop here, the co-op has big plans for the future.
