Union warns of need to ‘stabilize’ forestry sector as trade war drags on
Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on ParliamentToday, a Village Media newsletter devoted exclusively to covering federal politics.
A union representing lumber workers in Canada warned that the federal government needs to help “stabilize” the forestry sector as the trade war with the United States drags on and impacts productivity, leading to sawmill closures.
The sentiment emerged at a Tuesday meeting of the House natural resources committee as it continued its study into Canadian energy exports, where Unifor national president Lana Payne told MPs that the industry continues to struggle.
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly had unveiled a $1.5-billion aid package for the steel, aluminum and copper sectors on Monday, with the bulk of this amount offered through three-year loans under a program that will be created by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). At the time, Joly stressed that Ottawa is still working to offer “similar terms” through BDC to the softwood lumber and forestry industries.
The United States imposed a 10 per cent global tariff on imports of softwood timber and lumber in October 2025, in addition to 25 per cent on cabinets and furniture. Last month, Trump adjusted tariffs by slapping a 50 per cent levy on items made entirely or almost entirely of aluminum, steel and copper.
B.C. Premier David Eby has been critical of the government for not paying enough attention to an industry he warned is being “decimated.”
“I don’t know what it’s going to take, really, to get the bureaucrats and the ministers in Ottawa to recognize that softwood lumber employs more people in Canada than steel and auto parts combined,” a frustrated Eby told reporters Monday after Joly’s announcement. “My sincere hope is that softwood is so important that they’re preparing a fully separate, comprehensively funded announcement, but my sneaking suspicion is that yet again a core industry for Canadians has been left off the list and I struggle to understand why.”
CPC MP Gaétan Malette picked up on that frustration Tuesday, asking Payne at committee how Ottawa can “step up” to protect lumber jobs as the trade war continues. He noted that two sawmills announced plans to shut down their operations in northern Ontario last week, with the company citing “weak market conditions” as it navigates “a combination of persistent market headwinds and the continued impact of U.S. trade actions.”
It’s a move that the union said will affect 130 workers at one site.
Payne pushed the government again to fold softwood lumber protections into this year’s review process for the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement.
“We have to obviously look at how we build industrial strategies to support Canadian production and Canadian jobs. We’ve seen a start in that regard,” Payne said.
Referring to the Canadian forestry sector transformation task force that was created by Energy Minister Tim Hodgson in January, she said the group wants to see governments help “stabilize” the sector.
“Obviously, whether it’s the softwood duties that we are seeing in the industry or the tariffs on softwood lumber, this is making it very difficult for the industry to operate. We have to support as much as we can the supply chain of the forestry sector, from sawmills to paper mills to pulp mills,” she added. “We have lost way too much production over the last six months across our country.”
Payne said a report from the task force will flesh out details on how to spur domestic demand and help the government “match these two crises we have in our country: the forestry crisis with the affordable housing crisis.”
After being given 90 days for its work, Hodgson received the task force’s report last month. A spokesperson for the minister told Parliament Today that the minister is reviewing the document, which pulls from over 150 written submissions, in hopes of sharing its findings in the “coming months.”
In April, Hodgson said the recommendations will “directly feed” into the government’s considerations as he gears up to meet with his regional colleagues in June. But the minister’s press secretary, Charlotte Power, deferred to a broader forestry strategy being worked on when pressed for a timeline on when Ottawa will announce fresh support for the sector, as Joly hinted.
Power added that the strategy will be developed “by the end of this year” and acknowledged Eby’s frustrations.
“Our government agrees with Premier Eby that support for the softwood lumber sector is just as important as other sectors impacted by U.S. tariffs,” she said in a statement. “We are working to ensure all sectors receive additional support and will have more to say soon.”
An ‘olive branch’
Still, the matter played out in Tuesday’s question period, with Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet renewing his calls for Ottawa to bring in a pandemic-style wage subsidy program aimed at workers in hard-hit sectors. He argued that taking on more debt to repay loans in the future is the “last thing” businesses need.
“Businesses are in danger right now, in the short term,” Blanchet told the chamber in French. “Will the prime minister go back to the drawing board? We are extending an olive branch. Will he create a wage subsidy program for this economic transition period?”
Prime Minister Mark Carney vowed to quickly roll out the $1.5 billion that Joly announced and touted support for the steel sector, but did not directly address Blanchet’s request.
Conservative MPs have argued that the timeline for repaying loans is a “tacit admission” that Ottawa does not expect to secure a deal to lower or drop U.S. tariffs “any time soon.” The Official Opposition warned that Ottawa is not showing a sense of urgency in dealing with the matter, suggesting that an agreement with the U.S., not loan programs, will provide “real relief” for businesses.