President Trump’s tariffs on Canada may not be “totally removed” under a future trade agreement, the US ambassador says, but the two countries are on the path toward a stronger relationship. Pete Hoekstra, who serves as Trump’s envoy to Canada, says there are opportunities to secure new economic and security partnerships on the foundation set by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to the White House last week. …“We had a few rough months and those types of things. But we have strong economic ties, we have strong national security ties, we have personal ties. … There is so much to this foundation. …However, Hoekstra said Canada should expect some level of tariffs on its exports under a new trade deal, even a rate lower than the ones it currently faces. He pointed to the new framework with the United Kingdom announced last week.
Now that the Liberals have secured another term in office, the big question is whether they can deliver on their ambitious promises, particularly a $26 billion push into prefabricated homes through a new agency called Build Canada Homes (BCH). The plan includes $25 billion in debt financing and $1 billion in equity for Canada’s prefab and modular homebuilders. The goal is to cut construction times by as much as 50%, reduce costs by 20%, and lower emissions by 22% compared to traditional building, while using Canadian technologies like mass timber and softwood lumber. BCH also plans to issue bulk orders to manufacturers, aiming to create steady demand and boost apprenticeships to strengthen the skilled trades workforce. …A problem, Kevin Lee, CEO of the 
MONTRÉAL, RICHMOND, BC, and 
Canadian Forest Owners (CFO) reached out to the five federal political parties with current representation in parliament to ask how their party would support the thousands of rural communities across Canada where these forest owners live. Canadian Forest Owners represents 480,000 private forest owners from Prince Edward Island to Vancouver Island. These forest owners are largely family owned, small business, who own over a tenth of Canada’s managed forests, supporting every mill across the country, and accounting for nearly 20 percent of Canada’s total forest production. Private forest landowners provide solutions to climate change and real socio-economic development opportunities in rural communities from coast to coast. Here’s what they had to say…
President Trump’s shifting trade policies are creating uncertainty for the Canadian forestry industry. Sean McLaren, CEO of West Fraser Timber, says the potential inflationary effects of tariffs could weigh on future demand. “Looking forward, we see considerable macroeconomic uncertainty, particularly stemming from the US’s evolving tariff policies”. He said the company is planning for multiple scenarios. …RBC’s Matthew McKellar said that the outlook for the paper and forest products industry is highly uncertain when it comes to demand. “All of this uncertainty is bad for business,” said Derek Nighbor, CEO of Forest Products Association of Canada. Nighbor added that any impact on Canadian lumber companies will also affect pulp and paper: “We’ve got all of these downstream industries that depend on those inputs.” …McKellar noted that companies like West Fraser, Interfor and Canfor are geographically diverse, meaning potential softening of demand could be the bigger concern.
Major softwood producers with head offices in Canada say they have accounted for more than half of the growth in capacity in the US South over the past decade, highlighting their American investments as the Trump administration investigates lumber imports. The US South appeals to forestry companies because of the region’s abundant timber, the Canadian government said in a 57-page filing this month to the US Department of Commerce in a bid to avert potential tariffs. …In seeking to stave off tariffs, the Canadian government and several producers from Canada believe that the foray into the US South should be viewed as evidence of them being aligned with the Trump administration’s “America First” trade and investment agenda. …However, the U.S. Lumber Coalition is arguing that new tariffs are necessary. …Canadian producers are worried that if new lumber tariffs hit 25 per cent… total levies could reach nearly 60%. [to access the full story a Globe & Mail subscription is required]
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A lack of economical fibre will result in downtime at a pair of North Okanagan Tolko operations. Plants in Armstrong and at White Valley, near Lumby, will take approximately one week of downtime beginning as early as May 12 at Armstrong Lumber, and May 15 at White Valley. Employees have been notified. “BC regulatory and policy burden continues to impact the availability and accessibility of economic fibre,” said the Vernon-based company in an email. “We’re actively managing our log inventory, and the logs we have available are being deliberately directed to mills to make products where we can deliver the most value — accelerating our production of specialty, value-added (plywood, veneer and lamstock) and engineered wood products. “We recognize the impact this has on our employees and their families, and we will continue to provide as much notice as possible to help them manage through this uncertainty.”
The rapid response of firefighters and workers at Pioneer Log Homes east of Williams Lake to prevent a log pile fire from spreading to other piles in the yard is being credited for saving the construction site from being destroyed. The fire on the west side of the building site at 1527 Old Cariboo Highway 97 (Mile 153) was reported to the 150 Mile House Volunteer Fire Department just after noon Monday and after a mutual aid request fire crews from City of Williams Lake and volunteer departments in Miocene and Wildwood were also dispatched to the scene. They spent nearly half a day dousing the burning logs until the fire was fully extinguished at about 11:30 p.m. Monday. No estimate has been determined on the cost of the logs lost in the fire, which was confined to one large pile covering an area estimated at one hectare.
A high-stakes meeting between Prime Minister Mark Carney and United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday is being closely watched by politicians in Victoria. Ravi Kahlon, minister of housing and municipal affairs, said the province is being pragmatic… “We’re not expecting an agreement, and we’re also realistic that any agreement made with President Trump can be changed with a tweet the next day,” Kahlon said Tuesday. …Kahlon says the key for B.C. is to rely on its resources and to increase diversified trade with other countries. …Adding that breaking down interprovincial trade barriers will also help. …Meanwhile, B.C.’s forestry minister, Ravi Parmar, says Carney needs to prioritize B.C’s softwood lumber industry during his talk with Trump. …Western Canadian director for the United Steelworkers, Scott Lunny, tells 1130 NewsRadio that if the goal for the Trump administration is to rewrite the free trade agreement, we should “quit the nonsense and get on with that.”
New support for forestry-sector manufacturers in the province is creating sustainable jobs, strengthening local supply chains, establishing new made-in-B.C. products and reinforcing B.C.’s position as a leader in mass-timber innovation. …Through the BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund (BCMJF), the Government of B.C. is contributing as much as $11 million toward four forestry-sector capital projects in the province. The projects are helping B.C.-based forestry-product manufacturers grow their businesses by constructing new production facilities, purchasing new equipment and adding new high-value product lines, while creating and protecting hundreds of jobs.
The Ford government is planning to impose new rules on how local governments greenlight development projects, pushing the changes on municipalities as the province struggles to meet its self-imposed goal of building 1.5 million homes by 2031. The government is relying on a series of changes to Ontario’s planning rules, like reducing studies developers have to undertake and standardizing development charges, in a bid to speed up homebuilding. Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Rob Flack is set to table the legislation next week, with changes including reducing requirements for builders to conduct some municipally-focused studies, allowing builders to bypass some city committees and a raft of changes to the fees developers pay to local governments. …The legislation would give the Ford government the ability to pare down the list of requirements for a development application, establish which studies would be required and force municipalities to accept certified studies presented by the developer.
As the next step in its plan to protect Ontario workers in the face of tariffs and economic uncertainty, the provincial government is expanding its Skills Development Fund (SDF) by nearly $1 billion over the next three years, for a total of $2.5 billion. This funding will help train and reskill Ontario workers, including those directly impacted by layoffs resulting from tariffs and ensure they have the necessary support to find good-paying jobs and help strengthen Ontario’s economy. “We’re already seeing the impact of President Trump’s tariffs and the economic uncertainty he has created on Ontario workers,” said Premier Doug Ford. “Today’s announcement of a further $1 billion in SDF funding is just the latest step in our plan to protect Ontario by investing in workers and making sure they have the support they need to succeed, no matter what comes our way.”
The temporary lifting of triple-digit trade levies between China and the US while trade talks get under way removes the threat of an immediate stagflationary hit to the economy. This is very good news. It goes much further than investors thought possible—the current deal reduces the extra tariffs on China to 30%, made up of the base of 10% that will be matched by China, plus a 20% duty meant to make China do more to combat fentanyl. But an even better reason for such a big bounce is that it looks like Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is now in control of trade policy. Put simply, the grown-ups are in the room. …Don’t get your hopes too high. Tariffs are unlikely to go back to pre-Trump levels. …Bessent is after deep reform of China’s economy. [to access the full story a WSJ subscription is required]
WASHINGTON, DC — The American Kitchen Cabinet Alliance (AKCA) recently submitted formal comments as part of the Section 232 investigation on Timber, Lumber and Derivatives (including cabinets). Unfairly traded cabinet imports many of them sold at prices that are often over 60% below that of the domestic market are flooding into the US. …“American cabinet manufacturing plants cannot compete with foreign countries flooding the market with unfairly traded cabinets which has resulted in an estimated $6.5 billion in lost revenue to the domestic industry over the last five years,” remarked Perry Miller, President of Kountry Wood Products. “Foreign imports primarily from Cambodia, Malaysia, Mexico, Thailand, Vietnam that are heavily subsidized are destroying American cabinet jobs. …“The domestic cabinet industry is on the brink of collapse. “We are asking for a Section 232 tariff of at least 60%, to level the playing field and stop the cheating as we seek to protect over 250,000 American jobs.”
New York — Some of the last cargo ships carrying Chinese goods without crippling tariffs are arriving at US ports. Come next week, that will change. Cargo on ships from China loaded after April 9 will carry with them the 145% tariff President Donald Trump slapped on goods from that nation last month. Next week there will be fewer ships carrying less cargo. For many importers, it is too expensive to do business with China. Yet China is still one of America’s most important trading partners. It’s where we get most of our clothes, footwear, electronics and microchips, which power appliances, thermostats and anything else that beeps. …Forty-five percent of supply chain leaders expect they’ll pass the higher cost from tariffs down to their customers, according to a new survey by Gartner, a corporate research firm. …With fewer cargo ships expected at US ports, local economies will suffer immediately, Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles said.
WASHINGTON – The US Commerce Department said on Wednesday it is opening a probe into national security impacts of imports of medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks and related parts into the United States. The “Section 232” investigation could form the basis of grounds to impose new tariffs on work trucks, buses, vans and other larger vehicles. Tariffs would hurt Mexico, as it is the largest exporter of trucks to the US. …Canada and Japan are also large exporters of larger trucks to the US. The Commerce Department is seeking public comment by mid-May on the extent to which domestic production of trucks and truck parts can meet domestic demand. …It also wants comments on the impacts on prices “due to foreign unfair trade practices and state-sponsored overproduction”. …Higher tariffs on commercial vehicles could put pressure on transportation costs.
BINGEN, Washington — A plywood mill in the southern Washington city of Bingen will close next month and lay off all 81 workers, the plant’s operator said Thursday. The SDS facility has been operating — with occasional stoppages — since 1949. It uses older equipment, according to Wilkins, Kaiser & Olsen, which was part of a consortium of firms that acquired the mill in 2021. “Regrettably, the long-term challenges and the magnitude of the required investment render continued operation unsustainable,” the mill’s operators said. An adjacent stud mill, planer mill and marine facility will continue operating. Bingen is a small city just across the Columbia River from Hood River. WKO and an affiliated business, Mt. Hood Forest Products, are adding 60 full-time positions to increase their output by 35%. The firms said they will consider hiring some of the laid-off workers.
SALEM, Oregon — The Oregon Senate on Monday passed a bill to establish a lumber-grading pilot training pilot program. “This bill opens the door for small sawmill operators to participate in local housing solutions,” said Sen. Todd Nash, R-Enterprise, the bill’s sponsor. “Forty years ago, Eastern Oregon had 69 mills. Today, only seven remain. This is a practical step to support rural economies and increase housing options using locally sourced materials.” Senate Bill 1061, otherwise known as the Oregon Forests to Homes Act, would operate through Oregon State University’s Extension Service, in partnership with the Department of Consumer and Business Services. …Once certified as a grader, a mill owner could sell his lumber directly to a builder. Certified small sawmill operators will be able to sell lumber directly to homeowners or their agents for use in single-family homes or duplexes.
MINNESOTA — The Beltrami County Work Session held on May 6, 2025… featured discussions on a proposed $137 million investment to upgrade the West Fraser facility, which is crucial for both the mill’s future and the local economy.Jeremy Buck from West Fraser presented plans to modernize the mill, which has been operational since 1981 and still uses much of its original equipment. The proposed renovations aim to enhance energy efficiency and reduce environmental impact, with the potential to preserve approximately 32 direct jobs and support an estimated 500 indirect jobs in the community. The company has applied for assistance from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) through the Job Creation Fund, which requires a resolution of support from the county. …The next steps will involve further discussions on the budget and the resolution to support West Fraser’s investment.
A federal judge in Jackson, Mississippi, issued an order April 28 allowing a lawsuit by a newspaper publisher and lumber company against the Mississippi River Commission (MRC) to proceed. The lawsuit alleges a lack of transparency in meetings. The suit was originally filed in September 2024. Emmerich Newspapers Inc., which publishes dozens of publications across Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas, sued the MRC over what it claimed were secret meetings where proper records were not kept and the public was not notified or admitted. Emmerich was joined as plaintiff by a lumber company that manages hundreds of acres alongside the Mississippi River. The lumber company claims the Corps of Engineers’ decisions on flood control, informed by advice from the MRC, adversely affect its properties. The judge’s decision allows the lawsuit to proceed without ruling on the merits of the allegations.
