Democrats’ midterm victory raises new questions for Canada–US trade relations amid renewed interest in negotiations. In other Business news: Tla’amin Nation completes $80M acquisition of Western Forest Products’ Stillwater operation; Conifex receives $11M for Mackenzie mill upgrades; Mosaic earns Gold certification for Indigenous relations; and Nackawic faces the economic fallout of its pulp mill closure. In Q3 financials: Canfor reports an $88M loss; Stella-Jones earns $51M; RYAM posts a $229M loss; BlueLinx loses $0.6M; and Mercer shares surge following its debt restructuring.
In Forestry news: FPAC welcomes closer Canada-EU ties while raising concerns over deforestation regulations; Cepi updates its EU deforestation regulation guidance; the USFS withdraws a logging project near Yellowstone; a judge orders action on California’s spotted owl; and FSC comments on Greenpeace’s Nordic report. Meanwhile: a commentary challenges offsite construction’s housing promise; a flooring association develops wood-based hybrid standards; and UBC advances a biomass-powered food production initiative.
Finally, Alberta enjoyed a rare wildfire-free spell in August—its first in 40 years.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
A thumping, a shellacking, maybe even a disaster. …The Democrats will take control of both the House and the Senate. …Voters clearly sent a message that they are angry about the Republican president’s failure to deliver on his promise of lowering prices, punishing him in particular for pursuing the war in Iran and for launching his tariff regime. …Canadians have been paying much more attention than usual, in large part because of the potential impact on how Trump deals with the country that he keeps threatening to make the 51st state. Federal and provincial government officials have quietly been hoping a Republican spanking in the midterms would give Canada more leverage in trade talks with the Trump administration. …Democrats signalled they would act quickly to advance legislation. Among their targets: restoring the health insurance subsidies, taking down Trump’s tariffs and blocking authorization for the war against Iran.
The U.S. Department of Commerce has formally amended its 2017 countervailing duty determination on Canadian softwood lumber, following the conclusion of a nine-year NAFTA binational panel review. The panel affirmed Commerce’s revised determination on October 5, 2026, with final panel action issued October 19. The amended subsidy rates include reductions for Canfor (13.24% to 12.49%), J.D. Irving (3.34% to 2.96%), Resolute (14.70% to 13.90%), Tolko (14.85% to 11.01%) and West Fraser (17.99% to 16.73%). The all-others rate falls from 14.19% to 12.80%. However, Commerce states that the changes will not affect current cash deposit rates for the five named producers, as subsequent administrative reviews have established superseding rates. Revised deposit instructions will be issued for other companies without superseding rates.
Weak pulp and lumber markets have put heavily indebted forest products producers under growing pressure, with interest costs consuming cash that would otherwise go back into mills. One of the sector’s larger producers is now turning to a court-supervised restructuring that will hand most of the company to its bondholders in exchange for wiping out most of its debt. Shares of Mercer International are surging Tuesday after the company announced late Monday that it has signed restructuring support agreements. The agreements address $1.275 billion of senior notes and provide $400 million of fully backstopped new capital. …Mercer will implement the deal through a prepackaged Chapter 11 plan covering only the parent company and a non-operating Texas subsidiary. Confirmation is expected within about 45 days of filing, with completion targeted by the end of 2026. …The company plans to apply for a new exchange listing after emergence.
MONTREAL — Stella-Jones announced financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2026. …Sales for the third quarter of 2026 increased to $979 million, up from $958 million in the same period last year driven by continued volume growth in wood utility poles and a strong contribution from the acquisition of Brooks Manufacturing. Gross profit was $168 million, or 17.2% of sales, in the third quarter of 2026, compared to $188 million, or 19.6% in the corresponding period last year. …Net income for the third quarter of 2026 was $51 million versus net income of $88 million in the corresponding period of 2025. …”Sales gains were largely offset by an unfavourable wood utility pole product mix, temporary downtime related the ramp-up of the steel structures capacity expansion project in Candiac, and a pricing lag in residential lumber,” said Eric Vachon, President and CEO of Stella-Jones.
US Mortgage rates rose sharply again in October as the U.S. treasury yields surged. According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.33% in October, up 47 basis points (bps) from September. The rate reached 7.40% in early October, its highest level since 2023, before easing toward the end of the month. …Compared with a year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year mortgage rates were higher by 108 bps and 117 bps, respectively. The 10-year Treasury yield, a key benchmark for long-term borrowing, increased 21 bps to an average of 5.15% in October, although yields eased during the latter part of the month. Inflation concerns continued to put upward pressure on Treasury yields, as elevated energy prices stemming from the ongoing conflict with Iran contributed to accelerating inflation. Inflation accelerated to 3.7% in September from 3.4% in August.
The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) will apply from 30 December 2026. To help companies get ready, Cepi has published an updated version of its guidance document for the pulp and paper industry. This new edition replaces the guide published in June 2025. It covers the main obligations companies must meet once the EUDR applies. It also reflects developments up to September 2026: the December 2025 amendment to the Regulation, the Commission’s May 2026 simplification package, the secondary legislation adopted in 2026, and the updated Commission Guidance and FAQs, in addition to other Commission publications. Cepi developed the document to set out the pulp and paper industry’s shared understanding of EUDR obligations, and to give practical guidance on applying the Regulation along the pulp and paper value chain. Cepi will present the document at a dedicated Cepinar in November. The document can be 