It’s been hard to keep up with the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff trade war on Canada. Punishing tariffs have been levied on steel, aluminum and automobiles and — critically for B.C. — softwood lumber. “Tariffs are the top election issue for workers,” Canadian Labour Congress president Bea Bruske said. “This uncertainty really has people very, very stressed out about the future of their jobs.” …The United Steelworkers union represents about 14,000 forestry workers across Canada. Wood Council chair Jeff Bromley said it’s still not clear what the tariffs will mean for members. …Bromley said the federal government can support forest workers by enhancing employment insurance and funding training support for workers who need to find work in other industries. But Bromley said the ultimate solution is a new softwood agreement.

• Liberal Leader Mark Carney has promised to launch a public agency to build homes on public land using Canadian lumber and mass timber.
• The Conservative Party of Canada did not respond to requests for comment.
• The NDP says it would launch a plan to build homes, roads, bridges, transit and health facilities using Canadian materials like mass timber.
• Green candidate for Nanaimo-Ladysmith …wants to encourage companies to process lumber into other wood products in Canada.