A Moment of Truth
The forest products sector in Canada faces a perfect storm of challenges:
- Climate change
- Pest infestations
- Wildfires
- Trade disputes
- Wasteful red tape
- Transportation bottlenecks
- Intense global competition
- Market volatility
To ensure healthy forests endure as a sustainable source of prosperity and jobs for our children and grandchildren, we must challenge ourselves to take crucial steps right now. Though we plan for our forests in generations, what we do in the short term will have long-lasting consequences beyond any single government’s mandate.
Governments, scientists, Indigenous peoples, environmentalists and industry all have roles to play in finding balanced solutions that work for the environment, communities and workers.
Actions and Opportunities
Canada’s forest products industry provides family-supporting jobs that help workers raise a family and build a future – often in northern and rural communities where limited job opportunities exist.
We employ over 230,000 Canadians in more than 600 towns and cities coast to coast.
We pump more than $73 billion per year into the Canadian economy – which represents 12% of Canada’s manufacturing GDP. Over half of our products are exported to some 180 countries.
We are constantly modernizing our operations to keep them competitive. We are committed to ensuring that forest sector workers have access to the cutting-edge training and tools they need to keep working in this dynamic and evolving sector.
Climate Change and Innovation
We have reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by 60% since 1990.
We are laser-focused on solutions that demonstrate how innovation, family-supporting jobs, and positive environmental outcomes can co-exist.
We are already world leaders in reforestation and sustainable forest management, as well as in watershed and biodiversity conservation. And, we are always challenging ourselves to do even more.
Our researchers are constantly working to bring to market new, sustainable uses for wood products — from tall wood buildings to bio-plastics, from car parts to bio-adhesives, from fabrics to bio-fuels — to power the lives of Canadians and to export to countries around the world.
The Workforce of Tomorrow
There is room for everyone in our sector. As we work to build the workforce of tomorrow we support advancing the skilled trades agenda, and are finding new ways to increase participation in our workforce.
With 12,500 Indigenous workers and over 1,400 Indigenous-owned businesses in our sector, we are one of the largest employers of Indigenous people in Canada. The forest products sector is also a gateway for Indigenous entrepreneurship.
We have made recruiting more Indigenous people, women, youth, and new Canadians into the workforce a priority.
Growing the Future
We have a lot of work to do. But we can’t do it alone.
We are calling on governments and partners to join us in committing to the wide-ranging set of actions in our Cooperative Blueprint for Innovative and Sustainable Growth in Canada’s Forest Products Sector. With your support, together we can:
- Fight climate change and ensure healthy forests;
- Deliver innovative products and sustainable economic growth;
- Provide employment and advance skills development and training; and
- Clear the way for growth with a better transportation model.
