Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced a number of measures aimed at boosting Canada's softwood lumber industry.
In an effort to "supercharge" the sector, the federal government will be offering forestry companies loan guarantees, grants, and funding to retrain workers.
During a press conference in Kelowna, BC on Tuesday, Carney explained that Ottawa will provide up to $700 million in loan guarantees to "ensure that forestry companies of all sizes have the competitive financing they need to maintain, and restructure if necessary, their operations during a period of profound transformation."
Up to $500 million in grants and contributions will also be available to "make the softwood lumber industry more competitive for the long term." In addition, $50 million has been set aside to retrain workers in the sector.
"We will be our own best customer by relying more on Canadian lumber, Canadian softwood, for Canadian projects," Carney continued, touting Build Canada Homes, which is set to launch this fall.
"Canada's new government is working to double the pace of new homebuilding to almost 500,000 new units a year over the course of the next decade. That alone could double the use of Canadian softwood lumber in new residential construction ... and double the demand for structural panels."
The prime minister went on to urge British Columbia — the heart of Canada's forestry sector — to speed up permitting and iron out policies to ensure investors can bring their money in with certainty.
Carney noted that while the United States has long been Canada's number one customer, strained relations with the Trump administration have created the need for diversification. He called on those in the sector to work with the government to begin looking for new international markets that might be interested in Canadian lumber.
The move was applauded by the Forest Products Association of Canada, though they noted that achieving "the best trade deal for Canada" with the US remained their "most important wish."
"As those deliberations continue," FPAC President and CEO Derek Nighbor said, "today's measures announced by the Prime Minister are helpful as we try to stabilize the industry for the months ahead and at the same time achieve our shared goals of building more homes, improving competitiveness, increasing production and investment in Canadian operations, and growing new markets for the long-term."
Their sentiments were shared by Jack Gardner, owner and president of BC-based Stein Lumber.
"It's great that he’s investing into manufacturers in Canada," he told the West Coast Standard. "It will help us become more competitive however, a large portion of our lumber will still need to go into the US."
Gardner noted that 50% of the lumber he remanufactures goes south of the border," thus, "as much as we would like to shift and think that we can divert our production into other markets we still need the US."
