Canfor is permanently closing its Northwood pulp mill in Prince George, affecting about 300 employees.<\/p>\n
The company announced the decision in a press release on Tuesday, July 14, saying prolonged financial losses, a structural shift in global pulp markets and ongoing fibre supply challenges have made the operation unsustainable.<\/p>\n
According to the release, the closure will reduce Canfor\u2019s annual production of Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft (NBSK) pulp by about 300,000 tonnes.<\/p>\n
Canfor said significant new pulp production capacity has come online globally, creating an oversupply that has put downward pressure on pulp prices. Combined with persistent challenges accessing fibre, the company said those conditions have resulted in an extended period of unsustainable financial losses for Canfor Pulp.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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,\u201d President and CEO Susan Yurkovich said in the release.<\/p>\n
Yurkovich said the decision does not reflect the dedication or hard work of Northwood employees, adding the company will support affected workers through the transition by providing severance and exploring opportunities to redeploy employees to their operating locations where possible.<\/p>\n
Canfor said the mill will follow an orderly wind-down process and is expected to close in late Q4 2026.<\/p>\n
In a press release published on July 14, B.C. Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar called the news \u201cheartbreaking for the workers, their families, contractors and the entire Prince George community and region.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parmar added that he reached out to the City of Prince George, Unifor Local 603 and other community partners to offer support and commitment to the community and workers.<\/p>\n
According to Parmar, staff in the Ministry of Forests, the Ministry of Jobs and Economic Growth, and the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction will be deploying support to affected workers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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,\u201d Parmar said.<\/p>\n
The minister added, as noted by Canfor, that the closure of the pulp mill is a result of a structural shift in global pulp markets and challenges in fibre supply.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no question that B.C\u2019s forestry sector is facing immense challenges from U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs and duties, weak lumber prices affecting sawmill operations, and a steep and continued decline in pulp prices,\u201d Parmar explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cNone of that softens today\u2019s news, but it shows why we must keep pushing to stabilize and transform B.C.\u2019s forestry sector.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kim Haakstad, president and CEO of the B.C. Council of Forest Industries (COFI) expressed concerns to the workers, families and communities affected by the pulp mill\u2019s closure.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor too many people across this province, the consequences of inaction for the struggling forestry sector are happening in real time,\u201d she said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile this is a difficult day, it also underscores the urgency of working together on short-term action to stabilize the sector \u2013 ensuring mills stay open, people stay employed, and forestry continues to anchor rural, urban and First Nations communities across B.C.\u201d<\/p>\n
Haakstad said the announcement highlights the importance of continued collaboration between the sector and the government to address structural challenges and help restore globally competitive conditions for the industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cForestry supports nearly 100,000 good jobs, generates billions in economic activity, and underpins reconciliation and rural stability. Every day without long-term, predictable and economic access to wood means more families, workers and communities are put at risk,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe call on the provincial and federal governments to urgently implement the recommendations of the Forest Sector Transformation Task Force, with a specific focus on improving access to wood and utilization of sawmill residuals.\u201d<\/p>\n
The B.C. Conservatives also grieved the mill closure in Prince George and didn\u2019t spare the NDP government of criticism.<\/p>\n
In a release, the opposition party criticized the excessive policies that \u201chave made it harder to keep mills open\u201d across B.C.<\/p>\n
\u201cExcessive environmental regulations, shifting definitions of old growth, third-party agreements cutting into profitability, punitive stumpage fees, endless permitting delays and uncertainty around land claims have driven up costs and pushed investment out of B.C. Forest companies are now facing costs and obligations so high that some operations are simply no longer viable,\u201d the release reads.<\/p>\n
Kiel Giddens, shadow minister for labour and MLA for Prince George-Mackenzie, said the NDP has failed workers once again.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy thoughts are with the 300 hardworking employees of the mill and their families who depend on them. They did not deserve this,\u201d Giddens said.<\/p>\n
\u201cGovernment\u2019s own target is a 45 million cubic metre annual harvest across B.C., yet the industry is struggling to reach 29 million cubic metres. Mill after mill has closed, good-paying jobs have disappeared, and hardworking British Columbians are paying the price for the NDP\u2019s negligence.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Canfor is permanently closing its Northwood pulp mill in Prince George, affecting about 300 employees. The company announced…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":804282,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194299],"tags":[244562,49,48,87674],"class_list":["post-804281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-surrey","tag-bc-north","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-surrey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=804281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/804282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=804281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=804281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=804281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}