While U.S. softwood-lumber duties clearly have made it more expensive for Canadian lumber producers to ship across the border (“Why Are Home Prices Soaring?”), Canadian imports have declined for a different reason. More than two billion board feet of sawmilling capacity in BC have been shuttered since 2019 due to timber losses caused by insect infestation and wildfire. …This decline occurred while annual U.S. demand for lumber has increased by more than 2.5 billion board feet. Builders in the U.S. can’t buy enough lumber to meet demand, irrespective of the prevailing tariffs. …Canada’s share of the U.S. lumber market is around 25%. The import duty is 9%, so only 2.25% of a home’s lumber cost is in the duty. …Like U.S. mills… Canadian lumber mills are running flat out. One must look elsewhere to explain high home-building costs: land, labor and soaring demand have boosted prices of all inputs, not only lumber. [We respect the copyrights of the source publication – full access may require a subscription]