Federal budget sets aside $6.5 billion for forestry as BC's incoming government seeks a large share

The 2026 federal budget allocates $6.5 billion over six years to help Canada's forest industry cope with US tariffs. Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson said the plan is encouraging and that BC should get most of the money.

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne released the budget on November 5, 2026. Chapter 1 of the budget document sets out the forestry allocation in three separate funds, all starting in 2027-28.

What the budget sets aside

Budget 2026 divides the $6.5 billion across three programs, each with a different purpose.

The largest piece is a new Forestry Sector Accelerator, which the budget allocates $4 billion over six years, delivered through Export Development Canada. Its stated purpose is to invest in new large facilities and to help existing ones become biorefineries, biofuel plants, and other facilities producing higher-value forest products.

A second fund of $2 billion over six years goes to Natural Resources Canada to help forestry businesses modernize their facilities, improve their operations, and move toward higher-value products.

A third allocation of $500 million over six years, also to Natural Resources Canada, is meant to strengthen fiber supply chains and support forest management and stewardship.

The budget gives no breakdown by province. It does not say how much of the total would flow to BC.

What Doerkson said

Doerkson called the plan "an encouraging and ambitious statement" that recognizes BC's economic opportunities, according to CHEK News. He praised the prime minister and the finance minister and said he wants most of the funding to reach BC, where he described forestry as a key generator of the provincial economy.

His party's platform, page 17, made several promises tied to federal forestry funding: the Conservative government would work to make sure First Nations benefit fully from any federal money sent to support the forestry industry, and would create a major-project style permit process for forestry investments, with decisions in months.

Both promises are recorded on the tracker at /bc/provincial-2026/tracker.

The government is set to be sworn in on November 20, 2026, the first day it can make decisions about how BC engages with the federal programs.

What industry said

Kim Haakstad, CEO of the BC Council of Forest Industries, told CHEK News the funding would be welcome but that the actual amount reaching BC is not yet clear. She said funding alone cannot resolve the competitive pressures the industry faces.

The outgoing forests minister, Ravi Parmar, called the allocation a good start, saying it reflected what his government had been asking Ottawa for.

The BC Council of Forest Industries has been pressing Ottawa for support as sawmill closures and curtailments have continued through 2025 and 2026. Many Interior mills have been running at reduced hours or temporarily shut down because of a combination of falling lumber prices and the tariff burden. The funding announcement does not change those immediate conditions: no money flows before 2027-28, and the application rules have not been set.

The tariff pressure behind the announcement

BC's forest companies face combined US tariffs and duties of about 35 percent on softwood lumber, according to CHEK News. The tariffs have pressed sawmills, logging companies, and forestry communities across the Interior and the North, where the industry is the main employer in many towns.

The 35 percent combined burden covers both the US countervailing duty and an anti-dumping margin that together have been a source of trade dispute between Canada and the United States for decades. The tariffs rise when the US Department of Commerce reviews the rates, and the reviews run on an annual cycle. Under the existing structure, a BC mill shipping lumber south of the border pays that combined charge on every load.

The budget does not reduce the tariffs. Its programs are designed to help companies adjust their operations and reduce their dependence on US export markets over time. The logic is that a mill producing higher-value products such as engineered wood, biofuels or biochemicals sells into different markets, where the US softwood tariff does not apply.

What was promised

The Conservative platform, page 17, made four forestry commitments that connect directly to the federal funding announcement:

• Work to ensure First Nations benefit fully from any federal money sent to support BC's forestry industry, tracked at /bc/provincial-2026/tracker#gov-promise-first-nations-federal-forestry-funding.
• Create a major-project style permit process for forestry investments, with decisions in months rather than years, tracked at /bc/provincial-2026/tracker.
• Open a single-window consultation hub for First Nations on forestry referrals.
• Provide competitive tax conditions for value-added wood manufacturers.

These are campaign commitments. No government decision has been made on any of them. The government is set to be sworn in on November 20, 2026.

What comes next

The funding does not begin until 2027-28. Between now and then, the federal and provincial governments will need to agree on how the money is delivered and what qualifies. No application process or eligibility rules have been announced.

Doerkson has not said publicly which of the three funds BC would focus on, or whether his government would push Ottawa to change how the money is allocated between provinces. The budget chapter states only that the funds are for Canada's forestry sector broadly, with no provincial breakdown.

The Conservative platform's forestry promises are tracked at /bc/provincial-2026/tracker. Anyone working in BC's forestry industry or in a community that depends on it can read the platform commitments there and follow whether the new government acts on them once it is sworn in on November 20, 2026.