Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced a CA$1.2 billion support package to shield Canada’s timber industry from U.S. trade tariffs and duties, including CA$700 million in loan guarantees to stabilise the sector and protect jobs. The announcement comes as the United States prepares to hike tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber from just over 7% to more than 20%, intensifying a decades-long trade dispute.
Wood Central understands the package also includes CA$500 million in long-term funding to help forestry companies diversify export markets and invest in innovation. Speaking at a lumber mill in West Kelowna, B.C., Carney outlined a broader strategy to boost domestic timber consumption by positioning Canada as its own customer. Central to the plan is a push to accelerate housing construction, with a target of nearly 500,000 new homes annually over the next decade.
“By implementing this plan, we could potentially double the consumption of Canadian softwood lumber in new residential projects—an increase of close to two billion board feet—and significantly boost demand for structural panels, which would rise by nearly one billion square feet,” Carney said.
He also announced the launch of the Build Canada Homes initiative this fall, aimed at revitalising the affordable housing sector using Canadian technology, labour, and lumber. Wood Central understands that a national training program will also be established to support “up-skilling and re-skilling” for forestry workers, backed by CA$50 million in dedicated funding.
“At this pivotal moment in our history, Canada is transitioning from dependence to resilience,” Carney said. “Together, we will craft our own narrative rather than allowing others to dictate it to us. We are forging a unified Canadian economy instead of operating as 13 separate entities,” he added, referencing the country’s provincial and territorial jurisdictions.
How Canada plans to use timber to double the pace of housing
In April, Carney revealed plans to leverage mass timber and modern construction methods to more than double the speed of housing development. A key pillar of the strategy is the creation of a new federal entity, Build Canada Homes, which will spearhead affordable housing construction at scale—including on public lands.
“Build Canada Homes will catalyse an entirely new housing industry, with Canadian lumber at the centre of it,” Carney said. “The way we build homes needs to change. Prefabricated and modular housing are the future.”
He added that more than CA$25 billion in financing will be made available to prefabricated home builders, enabling factories to scale up production and meet growing demand: “Prefabricated and modular housing can drive down time to completion by up to 50%, reduce costs by up to 20%, and cut emissions by over 20% compared to traditional construction methods. Canada should be the world leader in this new industry. And as you can see here, we are already well positioned to do so.”
- To learn more about the impact of duties on lumber prices, click here for Wood Central’s special feature from March 2025.
