Canada’s federal government now has a new roadmap to strengthen the competitiveness of the country’s forest sector. With the release of the Canadian Forest Sector Transformation Task Force report, the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) says the conditions are in place to move from recommendations to action.
The Association welcomed both the report and the June 3 announcements from Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson. According to FPAC, the measures announced point to a stronger commitment to coordinated work between Ottawa and the provinces to improve sector stability, support investment and strengthen competitiveness.
One of the main priorities highlighted is restoring a predictable fibre supply, which FPAC sees as essential for companies to plan long-term operations and continue modernizing their facilities. The Association also underlines the need for a more predictable regulatory framework to encourage investment in mills across the country.
The report’s release comes as the federal government works to accelerate major projects and improve Canada’s transportation and supply chains. For the forest sector, this convergence could help address long-standing barriers that have been holding back industry development and the many communities that depend on it.
“The Forest Sector Transformation Task Force has provided federal and provincial decision-makers with a thoughtful playbook,” said FPAC President and CEO Derek Nighbor. He noted that the roughly 200,000 people working in the sector now want to see concrete measures to protect existing jobs and support new investment in Canada’s forest products industry. Nighbor also believes the federal announcements send the strongest signal in years in response to the competitiveness challenges facing the sector.
FPAC also welcomed enhancements to the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) loan guarantee program and other measures designed to support forest sector companies during an ongoing period of economic uncertainty.
In a June 4 statement, the federal government said the Forest Sector Action Plan is built around four priorities: securing a competitive and predictable supply of wood fibre, supporting innovation and modernization investments, expanding domestic and international market opportunities, and helping workers and communities through skills development and transition measures. Ottawa also said ongoing discussions with provinces, territories and Indigenous partners are expected to culminate in a formal Forest Sector Strategy for Canada by the end of 2026.
Industry stakeholders will be watching closely as the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers (CCFM) meets this week in Victoria. The goal is to continue building a national strategy capable of moving Canada’s forest sector “from decline to growth,” in FPAC’s words. For the industry, the challenge now is to turn the Task Force recommendations and federal announcements into concrete measures that support investment, mill modernization and long-term sector growth.
FPAC points interested stakeholders to its document We Grow to Build Canada: A Forest Sector Action Plan for Canada’s Government, which outlines key measures to support investment, innovation and the sustainable management of forest resources.
The Forest Products Association of Canada represents Canadian wood, pulp and paper producers nationally and internationally on public policy, trade and environmental issues. In 2025, the sector contributed $19.9 billion to Canada’s real GDP and supported approximately 200,000 direct jobs in hundreds of communities across the country.
