The Canfor and Canadian flags flying next to one another outside the company's headquarters in downtown Vancouver/via Canfor
A major setback for the forest sector in the Interior, and one which is starting to ripple and resonate across the provincial forestry landscape.
Canfor has announced its decision to shut down its Northwood Pulp Mill in Prince George.
The company estimates around 300 workers are going to lose their jobs directly.
The downside impact is likely going to result in close to a thousand people being cut off from employment, as pulp mills are the center-pieces of a tightly inner-woven industry.
“We recognize this is incredibly difficult news that will have a significant impact on our employees, their families, the businesses that support our operation, and the communities where we operate,” said Susan Yurkovich, President and CEO, Canfor in a news release issued late Tuesday afternoon.
“This decision is in no way a reflection of the dedication or hard work of our employees,” she added. “The team at Northwood has worked tirelessly to improve performance, navigating challenging conditions to support their operation and we are grateful for their efforts.”
The Northwood Pulp Mill in Prince George which Canfor purchased in 1999/via Tissue World Magazine
The company does say that its going to be working through transition plans for its employees as Canfor looks to close down its Northwoods operations sometime in the 4th quarter of this year.
“In the weeks ahead, we are committed to supporting our employees through this transition, including providing severance, and exploring opportunities to redeploy impacted employees to our other operating locations where possible.”
The move does not necessarily come out of the blue.
Canfor had already begun shutting down its sawmilling operations in northern BC, with feeder sawmills in Vanderhoof and Fort St. John being shuttered in December of 2024.
However, the Northwoods operation also draws chip supplies from other non-affiliated sawmilling operations in the northern region, which will inevitably cut off a key source of revenue to continue their operations — creating a domino effect which will likely lead to more logging contractors looking for better opportunities outside the region.
Canfor move highlights broader industry concerns
While perhaps not fully unexpected, the loss of another pulp mill in BC is one which is generating new calls for action within the industry itself, and those who help regulate the sector.
BC Council of Forest Industries CEO Kim Haakstad addressing COFI’s 2026 annual conference in Vancouver/via Resourceworks.com
“While this is a difficult day, it also underscores the urgency of working together on short-term action to stabilize the sector – ensuring mills stay open, people stay employed, and forestry continues to anchor rural, urban and First Nations communities across BC,” stated Kim Haakstad, the CEO of the BC Council of Forest Industries, an umbrella organization which represents the interests of the major players — including Canfor — in lobbying government for policy changes.
“Forestry supports nearly 100,000 good jobs, generates billions in economic activity, and underpins reconciliation and rural stability,” continued the statement from Haakstad. “Every day without long-term predictable and economic access to wood means more families, workers, and communities are put at risk.”
It’s a sentiment which is being echoed by the BC Conservative Forests critic, Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Ward Stamer — a logging contractor for some three-decades before he entered the provincial political realm.
Stamer says he feels its the NDP government’s policies which are restricting access to fibre supplies, which he argues is creating a level of uncertainty throughout the sector.
“Unfortunately, I believe that there’s going to be more [mill closures] to come because companies do not feel comfortable in investing in British Columbia right now, and this is a direct result of that,” argued Stamer.
“You’ve got other jurisdictions in the world that are improving their operations, while they’re [NDP government] making it so cost ineffective here to continue to do business,” he added.
“My question is…what is the provincial government doing?”
BC Forests Minister Ravi Parmar on July 13, 2026 announcing new extension to BC Timber Sales which provides specialty wood product producers — mostly in the coastal region — access to fibre supplies/via Government of BC
BC’s Forests Minister Ravi Parmar does say there are supply issues at play, but is also pointing to the the Trump Administration and its policies for dragging down cost-competitiveness in the BC industry.
“We will be leaning on our federal government partners, through the recently signed Canada-British Columbia Cooperative Prosperity Agreement, to help support the transition the forestry sector is facing in the Prince George region,” said Parmar in a statement issued in the immediate aftermath of Canfor’s announcement.
The pledge by the BC government for Prince George comes just a day after the Forests Minister made an announcement on Monday which did touch on the issue of access to wood supplies, but on a much smaller scale.
Parmar was on hand to announce out of the Cabinet offices in downtown Vancouver an amendment to the rules surrounding the government’s BC Timber Sales program, which will allow so-called custom cutters and producers access to the same fibre market the rest of the value-added industry in BC has.
That announcement impacts about 40 different companies, mostly along the coast, who employ about 250 people in total to produce specialty wood products for overseas customers, including specialty door frames and wood products used in the construction of Japanese Shinto temples.
In making that rules expansion the day before, Parmar conceded Tuesday that fibre supply issues also exist in the pulp sector as well.
“As noted by Canfor, the closure of this facility is the result of a structural shift in global pulp markets and challenges in fibre supply,” said Parmar in his Tuesday evening statement issued in the wake of Canfor’s decision to cut at least 300 direct jobs.
“There is no question that B.C.’s forestry sector is facing immense challenges from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and duties, weak lumber prices affecting sawmill operations, and a steep and continued decline in pulp prices,” the Minister’s statement Tuesday continued.
“None of that softens today’s news, but it shows why we must keep pushing to stabilize and transform B.C.’s forestry sector,” the statement added.
“My focus is on the people whose lives have been turned upside down by this news,” continued Parmar.
“The people of British Columbia stand with you during this difficult time.”
