Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a commitment of over $1 billion to support Canada's softwood lumber industry, which has been significantly impacted by increased U.S. duties. Speaking at a manufacturing mill in West Kelowna, B.C., on Tuesday, Carney emphasized the importance of using Canadian lumber for domestic projects. "We will be our own best customer by relying on more Canadian lumber for Canadian projects," he stated.

The softwood lumber sector has faced ongoing challenges, particularly with the U.S. recently raising anti-dumping duties on Canadian products. B.C. Forests Minister Ravi Parmar referred to the situation as a "gut punch" for the province's forestry industry, which has seen thousands of layoffs in recent years.

Carney criticized the U.S. duties as "unjustified" and expressed a desire to reduce the industry's reliance on the U.S. market. He noted, "This dependence creates costly uncertainty. It weakens our industry's ability to weather downturns. It makes lumber more expensive."

As part of the new support measures, Carney announced up to $700 million in loan guarantees for forestry companies and an additional $500 million aimed at enhancing the sector's competitiveness. These funds are intended to help the industry meet the demands of a growing Canadian market and explore new trading partnerships globally.

The Prime Minister also highlighted the government's commitment to using Canadian lumber and labor in its initiative to build affordable homes. The Build Canada Homes program, which was promised during the election campaign, is set to launch this fall and will provide up to $25 billion in financing to private sector home builders.

Carney concluded by asserting, "We are going to write our own story rather than letting others dictate theirs to us." The new measures aim to support product development, market diversification, and reskilling for workers in the hard-hit lumber industry.