Forests Minister Ravi Parmar announced $12 million from the province to help B.C.’s forest sector.
Parmar said the funding falls under two streams, market development and wood-first initiatives. He added the two streams are designed to strengthen supply chains, drive demand and create more opportunities for workers and businesses in the province.
Parmar announced the funding on Monday (May 11) at VanAir Design, a door manufacturer in Burnaby, that has found demand across North America and Asia.
The funding will be through the Forestry Innovation Investment, B.C.’s Crown corporation for wood product market development.
In the first stream, Forestry Innovation Investment will put more than $9 million into market-development initiatives, with $3 million from industry partners. Parmar said the funding will be for new markets and new opportunities through cutting-edge research, expansion into new sectors, securing approvals and supporting more B.C.-specific forestry trade missions.
The second stream will see $2.6 million from Forestry Innovation Investment into its Wood First Initiative, with $1.5 million from partners. Parmar said it’s about putting B.C. wood products at the forefront of development and architecture, “because where there is demand for world-class wood products, there’s only one obvious and that is British Columbia.”
“We’ll ensure that commercial buildings, stadiums, government facilities, and grand halls in every corner of this globe have B.C. wood holding it up.”
Parmar prefaced the press conference on Monday, pointing to “pivotal moments” over the course of the last couple of years, specifically the re-election of U.S. President Donald Trump and the back-and-forth tariffs. He added that Trump “fundamentally” changed the forest sector in B.C. “forever.”
“He did this by announcing completely radical tariffs on our wood products, and suddenly demand for B.C. wood plummeted in the United States as costs began to rise and housing starts for American families began to fall.”
The minister called it a turning point, adding that B.C. learned it could no longer rely on just the U.S. as a trade partner. He has pointed to multiple overseas trade missions to Asia since then.
Parmar added that the provincial government is now looking beyond Asia to Mexico and North Africa.