Job impacts, market challenges, and opportunities to strengthen Canada’s economy in 2026.
Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) today released its 2025 Annual Report, outlining a year marked by significant economic headwinds, escalating trade pressures, and growing uncertainty for hundreds of rural and northern communities that rely on a strong forest sector. Despite these challenges, FPAC members, partners, and employees across the country continued to advance critical work to support families, protect jobs, and strengthen Canada’s forest-based economy.
FPAC Board Chair, David M. Graham, noted that while 2025 was one of the most difficult years in recent memory, the sector enters 2026 well positioned to contribute to a more resilient, future ready Canadian economy. Key federal actions including improved procurement guidelines to support greater use of Canadian wood in government projects, the launch of Build Canada Homes to accelerate affordable housing construction, and new Investment Tax Credits to encourage biomass use for heat and power represent important steps forward for the industry and its workforce positioned to contribute to a more resilient, future ready Canadian economy.
“In Canada, forestry is jobs—over 200,000 people directly and another 200,000 through spin-off employment,” said Graham. “Our members and partners have shown remarkable commitment in supporting employees and forest-dependent communities through a year of unprecedented pressures.”
FPAC President and CEO, Derek Nighbor, emphasized that the past year underscored the urgent need for regulatory efficiency and more predictable trade conditions. The escalation of U.S. duties on lumber had far reaching impacts across the value chain, prompting renewed efforts to diversify markets and strengthen domestic competitiveness.
“As the Carney government moves ahead with major nation building projects, fixing Canada’s complex and costly regulatory system must be a top priority,” Nighbor said. “Policy misalignment between federal and provincial governments is undermining our ability to compete globally and attract new investment. Canada’s forest sector employees and communities deserve better.”
The 2025 Annual Report details FPAC’s work to protect mills and jobs, innovation, expand export opportunities, and accelerate the building of more homes and public infrastructure with Canadian wood. It also highlights the sector’s collaboration with labour, Indigenous, provincial, environmental, and community partners. Read the full report here https://www.fpac.ca/report/annual-report-2025.
Background information
We Grow to Build Canada: A Forest Sector Action Plan
Annual Report 2025 | Forest Products Association of Canada
About FPAC
FPAC provides a voice for Canada’s wood, pulp, and paper producers nationally and internationally in government, trade, and environmental affairs. As an industry, we contributed $21B in real GDP in 2024.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 across-Canada action plan aimed at advancing forest health, while supporting workers, communities and our environment for the long term.
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