Minister says B.C. expects billions from feds for forestry if U.S. talks fail

Ravi Parmar answers questions from the media in Langford, B.C., on Thursday, May 25, 2023. (Chad Hipolito / The Canadian Press)

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s forests minister says he expects billions in additional federal support for the timber sector if future trade talks with the United States don’t benefit the softwood lumber industry.

Ravi Parmer says B.C. will use every opportunity to remind Ottawa that the pending renegotiation of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico-Agreement on trade, better known as CUSMA, must include forestry.

If it doesn’t, he says the province expects Ottawa to double or even triple the more than $2 billion in supports it has provided the sector nationwide since last August.

Parmar says federal negotiators “must recognize that if they are unsuccessful” in addressing U.S. duties and tariffs on timber, B.C. will need help.

The minister says his province won’t be afraid to ask for more money to diversify the industry and help workers.

He says Ottawa has been a strong partner so far and he is optimistic that the federal government will address CUSMA in a way that includes forestry.

“But if they are unable to address this issue, then absolutely, they are going to have to step up and invest more dollars, and I would expect that is in the billions,” he says.

U.S. duties and tariffs on softwood lumber add up to around 35 per cent, but it is not clear yet where the U.S. government will eventually land.

This report by Wolfgang Depner of The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2026.