B.C.'s forest industry looks for new opportunities as U.S. tariffs threaten knockout blow

One year ago, the Plateau sawmill was the largest single employer in Vanderhoof, a community of 4,500 people about an hour's drive west of Prince George that bills itself as the geographic centre of B.C.

Today, its lumber yard sits empty — one of dozens of mill closures and curtailments around the province that have sent hundreds of people who had held long-term union jobs seeking employment elsewhere.

Those sorts of losses keep Coun. Brian Frenkel up at night, especially as the industry prepares for another hit in the form of U.S. tariffs set to come into effect this week.

"Our community, and in communities like us, and our industries have to look at saying, 'OK, where are the other markets in the world?' We're almost in a do-over."

Seeking new opportunities amid cascading crises will be a key theme this week as political and industry leaders meet in Prince George for the annual B.C. Council of Forest Industries convention.

The theme of this year's event is "strategies for competitiveness and sustainability," and panels focused on navigating global markets and what the future of trade might look like, with U.S. tariffs on the horizon.

The answer isn't obvious: the United States has long been the single largest market for B.C. lumber exports, representing over half the market for the approximately $10 billion industry.

Despite efforts to diversify dating back two decades, the natural flow of trade, driven by construction demands, has been for forestry products in Canada to go to the United States, with many mills built around the needs of that country.

But increasingly, the major players in the industry are scaling back operations in Canada and opening up new mills in the United States. That includes B.C.-based companies like Canfor, which shut down its operations in Vanderhoof but at the same time has expanded in Arkansas, citing access to a "high-quality, globally competitive timber supply."

At the same time, the B.C. industry has been beset by significant challenges: the mountain pine beetle, which killed off vast swaths of harvestable trees, wildfires and the ongoing softwood lumber dispute, which has seen the United States impose duties on Canadian exports outside of the current tariff conflict.

But the tariffs could be the final nail in the coffin for many if new opportunities aren't found.

John Brink is a Prince George-based businessman whose companies manufacture finger joints, used to link pieces of wood together, using unused lumber discarded by other mills.

The main market for his products is the United States, but, he says, once 25 per cent tariffs come into effect, he's not sure the business will be viable, making him visibly emotional.

"A lot of people will get hurt, losing their jobs, losing their businesses," he said. "It's not viable."