“This is yet another blow to our forestry industry, who have seen closure after closure from the Crofton pulp mill on Vancouver Island and the West Fraser sawmill in 100 Mile House to the closure of the Northwood pulp mill in Prince George earlier this month. That adds up to 21 mills closing either permanently or indefinitely since 2023, with 15,000 jobs being lost in BC’s forestry sector over the last four years, according to the BC Council of Forest Industries. “Canada’s forestry industry supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, generates billions of dollars for our economy and supplies us every day with the essentials of life, from lumber to build homes to the shipping boxes essential for modern commerce. Every one of us feels the impact of our lumber sector, and everyone in lumber communities feels the impact of these closures. “Conservatives will fight for a softwood lumber deal that defends Canadian workers instead of conceding our leverage without getting anything in return.