The dates on the calendar have been circled for months.

At least 1,200 professionals in the business of producing, selling and distributing wood products in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States will be converging on Montreal in April. The magnet is the Montreal Wood Convention (MWC).

For all 1,200 of them, the proceedings April 14-16 at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal will help create the foundation and direction for their wood product businesses in the coming year—despite the uncertainties that currently rule the U.S. trade relationship with Canada.

The organizers of the event—four regional forest industry associations—have developed the right formula for the convention and tweaked it to meet the changing times and needs of delegates.

“It’s a destination for every wood industry actor. Whether you are a buyer, a producer, a wholesaler or service provider, that ecosystem is well created at the Montreal Wood Convention and you can conduct business in a very fast and productive way because of the size and setting of the event. It is very unique in that sense for any event of that size,” explains Sven Gustavsson.

Gustavsson is event director\manager for the MWC and manager softwood and value-added softwood lumber, Quebec Wood Export Bureau. “We feel we have a viable concept,” he adds.

The associations responsible for organizing the convention all have deep roots in the regional forest industry They are: the Maritime Lumber Bureau; the Ontario Forest Industry Association; the Quebec Forest Industry Council and the Quebec Wood Export Bureau.

For the 2026 MWC event, organizers have assembled a comprehensive program which features an ever-popular trade show, conferences addressing key industry topics, along with the inclusion of numerous networking opportunities for the delegates. The mix clearly works and the components meld seamlessly. The speakers gathered and sessions arranged combine pertinent business information with more holistic viewpoints and analysis.

The process begins April 14 with a couple of associated industry groups capitalizing on the wide draw of the MWC. The North American Wholesale Lumber Association (NAWLA) is scheduled to hold its regular regional meeting and WOLF—Women in Lumber and Forestry—will hold a business session for its membership.

MWC events on Wednesday April 15 get down to business with an industry seminar with the focus on the economy and markets. Benjamin Tal will be up first in an encore for the MWC delegates, delivering his take on the impacts of the uncertainties influencing the economy and market response. Tal is managing director and deputy chief economist with CIBC Capital Markets Inc., and a specialist in analysis of economic development and its implications on business markets. His fellow panelist will be Paul F. Jannke, a principal in Forest Economic Advisors LLC (FEA) based in the U.S., who has wide expertise in dealing with and understanding North American lumber markets,

An Industry Leaders Panel will follow the seminars, led by three expert speakers. It’s to be kicked off by Thomas Mende, chief sales officer with Binderholz in Germany, a European leader and producer of cross laminated timber. Mende will be joined by Doug Robinson, CEO of lumber distributor and remanufacturer, Weston Forest. Robinson brings leadership experience in global retail building materials and industrial supply chains. Rounding out the panel will be Frederic Verrault, vice-president corporate affairs for Nordic/Chartier, Chibougamau.

Keynote luncheon speaker Chris Hadfield will deliver views from a different perspective. The astronaut and author offers an enlightening outlook on business leadership and management. The following morning, on Thursday April 16, the breakfast session will have Doug Stephens as the headline speaker. He’s billed as a “business futurist” and retail expert.

The trade show will be available to delegates throughout the convention.

Event director Gustavsson noted the 112 exhibitor booth spaces available had been committed by January. He anticipates the 1,200 delegates recorded last year will be matched by the 2026 MWC. The numbers speak to one of the event’s key functions. “The MWC is always seen as a forum for day-to-day business,” he adds.

The event has traditionally involved Canadian and American based trading partners and the barrage of changes from the present administration in the White House have not materially changed the situation, says Gustavsson. It’s business as usual, although he notes a trend toward more business consolidation. “Now there are fewer players with the same market share.”

And there’s another interesting development “We’re seeing a greater interest in the MWC from South America and Europe.”

For more information on the MWC contact: afortin@quebecwoodexport.com

B.C. lumber producers will have plenty to talk about at the Council of Forest Industries (COFI) annual meeting and convention in April, but among the top issues will be access to fibre—the timber harvest in B.C. that feeds its sawmills is at a dismally low level, nearly 40 per cent below the Annual Allowable Cut.

Another major forest industry show precedes the MWC. The British Columbia Council of Forest Industries (COFI) is holding its annual meeting and convention April 8 to 10 at the JW Marriott Parq in Vancouver. It comes at a critical junction for the B.C. forest industry.

COFI has united with 11 partner organizations representing diverse factions of the B.C. forest industry. The coalition has established a digital hub—forestryisasolution.com—to urge the provincial government to strengthen the sector and has made suggestions on how to accomplish it. They include: speed up access to economic wood; improve competitiveness; fix BC Timber Sales and support First Nations partnerships.

Forestry is a Solution is the theme and rallying cry for COFI’s convention.

Speakers were being confirmed at the Logging & Sawmilling Journal’s press time. The convention usually presents leaders from the provincial and First Nations governments, forest industry executives and experts from associated disciplines. They participate as keynote speakers, in panel discussions and workshops. The COFI convention also includes a trade show component which doubles as one of the ample opportunities for networking throughout the convention.

Kim Haakstad, COFI’s president and CEO, responded recently to questions from the Logging & Sawmilling Journal. On the issue of urging the provincial government to restore a consistent flow of affordable timber, Haakstad said COFI has been clear and consistent for years.

“Predictable economic access to wood is the foundation of a viable forest sector,” she said. “We are now seeing COFI’s past warnings become reality.”

This is a case where statistics accurately reveal the story.

“Since 2019, B.C.s actual timber harvest has fallen from 45.7 million cubic metres to roughly 31.9 million cubic metres in 2025, nearly 40 per cent below the AAC, leaving significant economic, employment and community value unrealized,” she pointed out. “That decline has translated directly into job losses with forestry employment falling by 15,000 jobs from about 101,000 jobs supported by the sector in 2022 to about 86,000 jobs in 2025.” And, of course, the forest industry doesn’t operate in isolation: it influences economic well being and working peoples’ lives.

“Beyond continuing advocacy, COFI’s focus has sharpened on demonstrating that forestry is not a narrow sectoral issue but a near-term solution to some of Canada’s most pressing challenges,” continued Haakstad. As such, COFI suggests, forestry should be deemed a major economic and nation-building project as being promoted by Prime Minister Mark Carney.

In the meantime: “COFI will continue pressing for urgency, transparency and timelines while being clear that further delays risk the permanent loss of capacity, investment and skilled workers.”

The government’s BC Timber Sales Review Task Force—appointed after criticism of the agency’s efficacy—produced a long list of recommendations last fall but few results on the ground. “We urge the government to prioritize and fast track the Task Force’s recommendations that focus on increasing wood flow to manufacturers across the province,” she said.

Haakstad views COFI’s relationships with First Nations in B.C. as critical.

“COFI sees First Nation partnerships as essential to the future of forestry in B.C. and central to unlocking forestry’s full potential as a solution sector.” She says making deals with First Nation groups represents an area of growing opportunity for COFI’s member companies.

She notes other converging risks on the forest sector. These include: the permanent loss of industrial capacity; erosion of cost competitiveness; wildfire and salvage delays; market vulnerability and policy fragmentation.

Most of these issues will be discussed in varying forms during COFI’s convention in Vancouver. “This convention serves as a platform for collaboration and knowledge sharing aiming to rebuild competitiveness and promote a sustainable forest sector in all regions,” says Haakstad.

For the latest information on the COFI convention, check: cofi.org