Protecting Forest Sector Jobs
United Steelworkers Welcome Federal Forest Sector Report, Urge Swift Action to Protect Workers
Canada's federal government released a sweeping blueprint to rescue its struggling forest sector on June 3, and the United Steelworkers union (USW) wasted no time demanding action. The union, which represents over 18,000 forest workers across Canada, welcomed the Canadian Forest Sector Transformation Task Force report but warned that workers cannot wait. GlobeNewswire reported the USW's national director Marty Warren saying: "Canada's forest sector is facing serious and long-standing challenges, and workers and communities need more than short-term fixes."
The report, titled *Canada's Transformed Forest Sector: Competitive. Resilient. Relevant*, was delivered to Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson on April 16 and publicly released in Langford, B.C. alongside a $130 million funding announcement for 56 transformation projects, according to Bioenergy Insight. The announcement is part of over $2 billion in federal supports committed since August 2025.
49 Mill Closures in a Decade Drove the Crisis
Canada's forest industry has been bleeding jobs for years. Since 2015, 49 mills have shut down and 8,700 workers have lost their jobs, according to CBC News. Since August 2025 alone, 12 or more sawmills have closed, cutting 2,000 more positions. The sector directly employs over 200,000 people and generates $87 billion in annual economic activity. More than 300 Canadian communities depend on it for their survival.
The Task Force, launched by Prime Minister Mark Carney in January 2026 with a 90-day mandate, concluded that U.S. tariffs — now near 35–45% for many Canadian producers — are not the only problem. The report found that the "most significant barriers to competitiveness are homegrown," pointing to unstable wood fibre access, redundant regulations, and chronic underinvestment in modern manufacturing, CBC News reported.
USW Pushes Hard for Employment Insurance Reform
The USW supports the report's long-term vision but is laser-focused on protecting workers during the transition. The union is lobbying specifically for easier access to Employment Insurance (EI) — the government benefit that replaces lost wages — during mill closures, curtailments, and mass layoffs. Industry retooling will take years, and the union wants workers covered while it happens, according to Financial Post.
The report's recommendations include improving access to wood fibre, cutting red tape, expanding value-added production, and diversifying export markets. B.C. has already begun acting, introducing new timber sales licenses and salvage licensing to boost fibre supply, CBC News reported. B.C. Forests Minister Ravi Parmar put it bluntly, saying the "old ways" of selling commodity lumber to the U.S. are no longer viable.
$2 Billion Pledged but Critics Call It a Drop in the Ocean
The federal government has committed significant money. The latest package includes $130 million for specific projects, $400 million for regional development agencies, and $100 million for a new fund for disrupted communities, per Bioenergy Insight. The government also raised the maximum loan under its BDC Softwood Lumber Loan Programme from $30 million to $50 million. Federal and provincial ministers meeting at the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers on June 4 pledged to align policies with the report's action plan.
Not everyone is impressed. B.C. Conservative critic Ward Stamer called the funding a "drop in the ocean" and accused the federal government and the provincial NDP of "placing the blame on Donald Trump" while ignoring permitting delays and shrinking fibre access at home, according to the Victoria Times Colonist. Industry groups, however, were more positive. Forest Products Association of Canada CEO Derek Nighbor called the report a "thoughtful playbook" and the most robust federal response in years, Paper Advance reported.
A 25-Year Strategy Aims to Reinvent the Sector by 2050
The Task Force's biggest idea is a 25-year National Forest Sector Strategy running from 2026 to 2050. The plan pushes Canada away from low-margin commodity lumber exports and toward high-value products like mass timber, bio-aviation fuel, and biorefineries, per Lesprom Network. Minister Hodgson framed the industry as being at a "turning point," arguing it must move beyond "life support" toward independent strength.
The stakes are high. Failure to act risks the survival of over 300 forest-dependent communities across Canada. Meanwhile, 76% of Canadians want better forest management because of wildfire fears, but a May 2026 poll found public priorities are shifting from environment to economy as trade pressures bite, according to CTV News. The USW says the government now has the roadmap — what workers need next is action.
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