‘No one is investing’: N.S. woodland owners concerned tariffs will negatively impact industry’s future

The Maritime lumber industry could face heavy losses amid the trade war.

Julia and David MacMillan own 1,000 acres of woodland in West Tatamagouche, N.S. They currently grow around a million trees annually, consisting of around 35 to 37 commercial tree species, including spruce, maple, hemlock, ironwood, and balsam fir.

“My ancestors left Scotland in 1983, and this is where they came to, so almost 200 years. The properties today consist of probably five or six properties which various members of the MacMillan family had over the years, and today, we have been able to consolidate those properties,” says David.

Eventually, all their trees will become lumber and distributed to mills around Nova Scotia, which in turn is shipped all over, with the majority going to the United States.

“Really, we the woodland owners, we provide the material, it’s the ground level, the grunt people, it’s the raw resource,” says Julia.

The MacMillan family sells their product to roughly 15 companies. Some of the big ones include Irving, Ledwidge Lumber, Elmsdale Lumber and a paper mill in Port Hawkesbury, N.S.

“If the sawmills and other mills in Nova Scotia that use the product, the other materials that we use from the woodlot, if those mills have to slow down or shut down as a result of the tariffs, then ultimately there is no market for the product that we make,” says David.

The MacMillan woodlot employs six full-time staff and 20 seasonal workers. Julia and David’s biggest fear when it comes to tariffs is the impact on their workers and their families.

“If we don’t cut a tree today, it will continue growing tomorrow. If we don’t cut that tree a year from now or five years from now, it will probably continue to grow. So, the forest is probably not going to pay much attention to the tariffs but it’s the employees,” says David.

“It will mean layoffs. I hope my men aren’t watching this, because it will mean layoffs. It will mean we hope to sell our equipment, we will keep our land, it may not have the value that we need for our retirement because that’s been our investment and that gives us a lot of uncertainty and grief,” says Julia.

Americans use about 55-billion-board-feet a year and around half of that comes from Canada.

“We don’t understand why they are doing this and it’s not going to work. But sadly, we are all going to suffer until they come to that conclusion that this will fail. But the uncertainty, the turmoil, the stress that this is leading to is devastating for a lot of companies, no one is investing,” says Julia.

“The Americans themselves can supply 35-billion-board-feet a year. So, the other 20 to 25-billion-board-feet comes from Canada and when the Americans, or more specifically the president, says we don’t need Canadian lumber, that means he has to come up with 40 per cent of the United States lumber demand from somewhere else,” says David.

David says if the cost of tariffs is able to be passed to the consumers in the United States, then the impact for them will be minimal. But if not, problems could arise.

“So, the real question is, can the tariffs, whatever that percentage is, can that number be applied to the product when it’s sold in the U.S.,” says David.

David admits he is worried what the future holds if more reciprocal tariffs are implemented.

“It’s the fact that we would have to look our employees in the eye and say we don’t have a job for you today. That would be the most heartbreaking part for us is that we would have to let our employees go,” says David.

The uncertainty has the MacMillan’s and the other 30,000 woodlot owners in the province at a standstill. Julia’s advice for others is to not take on any new risks until they have more answers.

“No new purchases, no increases to your workforce. If you have 10 employees right now, don’t hire, just see if you can ride through with what you have right now. Don’t inquire about more woodland. Just don’t take on any more risk or cost with the uncertainty because it could fail and you could lose it all,” says Julia.

Julia says she’s worried about those looking to join the future forestry industry.

“Our big fear now is encouraging young people to come into forestry work. And with the tariffs and all the troubles and turbulence that the forestry sector has gone through, there is going to be less incentive for young folks to come into this as a career,” says Julia.

“And for the ones in the career now, they are going to want to get out and want to change careers or maybe must get out because there won’t be the jobs there.”

The MacMillan’s say there could be one silver lining that may come with tariffs on the forestry sector.

“If there was a positive side to any of this, we need to look internally and start using our own products and make things from them rather than ship out the raw product, make our furniture again. You know, have our craft tissue here and make it,” says Julia.

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