Mill Closures and Mill Investments
in the Canadian Forest Sector
As noted elsewhere in this report, Canada’s forest industry has faced a number of competitiveness challenges over the past few years. These have led the industry to adjust by shutting down higher-cost production and investing in its more profitable assets.
The following tables provide a list of mill closures from April 1, 2005 through March 2006, and a list of major mill investments from January 1, 2005 through March 2006. As the first table illustrates, mill closures have occurred in all regions of the country, with the majority taking place in Ontario and Quebec. Conversely, companies have invested in operations across Canada, with the majority occurring in the west.
CANADIAN MILL CLOSURES* (April 1, 2005–March 31, 2006)| Date | Company | Location | Product / Capacity |
| April 2005 | Devlin Timber (Devlin sawmill) |
Kenora, Ontario | lumber |
| May 2005 | Tembec Inc. (Marks Lumber Ltd.) |
Brantford, Ontario | value-added lumber / 50 000 MBF** |
| May 2005 | Norampac (Molson Street) | Montréal, Quebec | containerboard / 480 million square feet |
| May 2005 | Tembec Inc. (La Sarre sawmill) |
La Sarre, Quebec | lumber |
| May 2005 | Tembec Inc. (Davidson sawmill) |
Mansfield-et-Pontefract, Quebec | lumber / 55 000 MBF |
| May 2005 | Tembec Inc. (Saint-Raymond mill) |
Saint-Léonard-de Portneuf, Quebec | specialties / 68 000 tonnes |
| May 2005 | Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (Malakwa sawmill) |
Malakwa, British Columbia | lumber / 50 000 MBF |
| June 2005 | Canfor (Hines Creek Timber) | Hines Creek, Alberta | lumber |
| June 2005 | International Forest Products (Field sawmill) |
Courtenay, British Columbia | lumber / 220 000 MBF |
| June 2005 | Uniboard | New Liskeard, Ontario | particleboard |
| June 2005 | Uniboard (production line 1) | Sayabec, Quebec | particleboard |
| July 2005 | Tembec Inc. (TKL sawmill) |
Témiscaming, Quebec | lumber / 15 000 MBF |
| August 2005 | Smurfit-Stone (medium paper mill) |
Bathurst, New Brunswick | containerboard / 243 000 tonnes |
| August 2005 | Smurfit-Stone (New Richmond mill) |
New Richmond, Quebec | containerboard / 235 000 tonnes |
| September 2005 | West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (Seehta Forest Products Ltd. sawmill) | Red Earth Creek, Alberta | dimension, boards / 45 000 MBF |
| September 2005 | Interact Wood Products Ltd. (laminated wood plant) |
Clearwater, British Columbia | laminated wood |
| September 2005 | Norampac (paper machine No. 1) |
Red Rock, Ontario | paper / 150 000 tonnes |
| September 2005 | International Forest Products (Fraser Reman plant / Fraser Mills) | Coquitlam, British Columbia | remanufacturing facility |
| September 2005 | J.D. Irving, Limited (Lewis sawmill) |
Weymouth, Nova Scotia | lumber / 150 MBF |
| October 2005 | Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. | Grand Falls, Newfoundland and Labrador | newsprint / 60 000 tonnes |
| October 2005 | Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. | Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador | newsprint / 194 000 tonnes |
| October 2005 | Kimberly-Clark Corp. | Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec | hygiene products |
| October 2005 | Western Forest Products Inc. (Saltair mill) | Ladysmith, British Columbia | lumber |
| October 2005 | Western Forest Products Inc. (Silvertree mill) | Vancouver, British Columbia | lumber |
| November 2005 | Interlake Papers Inc. / Cellu Tissue machine |
St. Catherines, Ontario | tissue paper / 10 000 tonnes |
| November 2005 | Domtar Inc. (Lebel-sur-Quévillon) |
Lebel-sur-Quévillon, Quebec | kraft pulp /
300 000 tonnes |
| November 2005 | Uniboard (Temiskaming Shores particleboard plant) | Temiskaming Shores, Ontario | particleboard |
| December 2005 | Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. (planer and lumber mills) |
Champneuf, Quebec | lumber / 12 000 MBF |
| December 2005 | Fraser Papers (paperboard mill) |
Edmundston, New Brunswick | recycled paperboard / 60 000 tonnes |
| December 2005 | Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. | Kenora, Ontario | newsprint /
240 000 tonnes |
| December 2005 | Atlas Lumber (Alberta) Ltd. | Blairmore, Alberta | dimension lumber / 30 000 MBF |
| December 2005 | Domtar Inc. (Lebel-sur-Quévillon) |
Chapleau, Ontario | lumber / 90 000 MBF |
| January 2006 | Cascades Fine Papers Group Inc. (paper machine No. 5) | Saint-Jérôme, Quebec | uncoated woodfree, freesheet / 8000 tonnes |
| January 2006 | Buchanan Forest Products (Great West Timber) | Thunder Bay, Ontario | lumber |
| January 2006 | Weyerhaeuser (Prince Albert pulp and paper mill) | Prince Albert, Saskatchewan | market pulp and fine papers / 410 000 tonnes |
| January 2006 | NEWPRO (particleboard plant) |
Wanham, Alberta | particleboard / 90 million square feet |
| January 2006 | Cascades Inc. (Cascades Fine Papers Group Inc.) | Thunder Bay, Ontario | fine paper /
175 000 tonnes |
| February 2006 | Domtar Inc.
(Grand Remous and Malartic) |
Grand Remous and Malartic, Quebec | lumber / 550 000 MBF |
| March 2006 | Cascadia Forest Products Ltd. (Island Phoenix sawmill) | Nanaimo, British Columbia | cedar |
| March 2006 | Cascades Inc. (Pickering) | Pickering, Ontario | paper towel and bathroom tissue |
| March 2006 | Western Forest Products Inc. | Squamish, British Columbia | northern bleached softwood kraft pulp /
275 000 tonnes |
| March 2006 | Sturgeon Timber Ltd. | Dorion, Ontario | wood chips / 500 000 cubic metres |
| March 2006 | TriCept Industries (planing mill) |
Hearst, Ontario | lumber |
| March 2006 | Shermag | Notre-Dame-de-Montauban, Quebec | furniture |
| March 2006 | Domtar Inc. (PM No. 10 and PM No. 11) |
Ottawa, Ontario | paper / 65 000 tonnes |
| March 2006 | Domtar Inc. (pulp and paper mills) |
Cornwall, Ontario | kraft pulp and fine paper / 425 000 tonnes |
**MBF = thousand board feet
Source: Company press releases, newspaper articles
MILL INVESTMENTS (January 1, 2005–March 31, 2006)
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© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada 2006 |