September 5, 2025 (Ottawa) Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) welcomes the federal government’s announcement of new measures to support trade-exposed Canadian businesses and employees and to enable economic transformation.
The measures announced today — ranging from the Strategic Response Fund to procurement reforms, tariff-response financing, workforce supports, and biofuels incentives — if well executed, can provide hope for the future for Canada’s forest sector and its 200,000 employees.
In addition to the measures announced today, FPAC continues to call on the federal government to extend Clean Investment Tax Credits (ITCs) to include biomass for heat and electricity generation as part of Budget 2025. Introducing the biomass ITCs will create new jobs, improve energy security, lower carbon emissions, and help reduce wildfire risks.
“The measures announced today recognize the challenges Canada’s forestry communities are facing, given increased softwood lumber duties and that the fate of the U.S. Section 232 investigation into wood and wood derivatives exports is still unknown,” said FPAC President and CEO Derek Nighbor. “While a negotiated agreement on softwood lumber is the sector’s number one priority, today’s announcement is about trying to create stability as we modernize and innovate for the future. We look forward to working with the federal government so these measures deliver for employees and businesses across the forest sector value chain —– from sawmills to plywood and engineered wood facilities to pulp and paper mills to mass timber and home building factories,” Nighbor added.
FPAC provides a voice for Canada’s wood, pulp, and paper producers nationally and internationally in government, trade, and environmental affairs. As an industry with annual revenues exceeding $87.2B, Canada’s forest products sector is one of the country’s largest employers—providing 200,000 direct jobs and operating in hundreds of communities across the country. Our members are committed to collaborating with Indigenous leaders, government bodies, and other key stakeholders to develop a cross-Canada action plan aimed at advancing forest health, while supporting workers, communities and our environment for the long term.
