From Optimism to Action: What Two Forestry Events Revealed About the Industry’s Future

In early April, I found myself among more than 600 delegates at the 2025 Council of Forest Industries (COFI) Convention in Prince George. The message coming from the stage was clear and consistent: British Columbia’s forestry sector, though challenged, was on the cusp of transformation. Words like resilience, partnership, and innovation echoed across the sessions.

COFI’s President and CEO, Kim Haakstad, struck a hopeful tone in her remarks: “The forest sector is facing unprecedented challenges—but with collaboration and innovation, there is a path forward.” That sentiment threaded itself through panel discussions on Indigenous partnerships, low-carbon futures, and the role of a more sustainable forestry sector. While there was no ignoring the reality – tariffs, mill closures, and dwindling timber supply – the mood was decidedly forward-looking.

Seven weeks later, I attended last week’s Canada North Resources Expo, also held in Prince George. The contrast couldn’t have been more striking.

This show, which typically draws the biggest names in logging and roadbuilding equipment, felt subdued. Gone were the sprawling displays from Caterpillar, Komatsu, Hitachi, Volvo, John Deere, and XCMG. These are big players – their absence was impossible to miss

As I meandered from one piece of equipment to another, one exhibitor commented quietly, “It’s a quiet show this year. I’m disappointed. I chose this space because I thought XCMG was going to be right beside me. They never showed – but then, none of the big guys showed.” That comment lingered with me—not just for what it said about the show, but what it revealed about the broader industry.

At COFI, we heard big ideas. At the Resource Expo, we saw who’s showing up—and who isn’t. It was a clear indication that the sector isn’t heading in the direction suggested by industry press releases or keynote speeches – it’s in where the boots land and where the machines roll in. Or don’t.

Amid the quietness of the show, there was a different presence though. It wasn’t just about absence but about adaptation.

Near the main entrance of CN Centre was the Fawcett Cannon, a wildfire suppression machine developed by White River Contracting in Vanderhoof. White River began as a logging operation has designed and is now manufacturing a patent-pending solution for rapid wildfire response. It’s practical, it’s field-tested, and it’s born from firsthand experience with fire season in B.C.

Around the corner from the Fawcett Cannon, I met with Ace Instruments from Fort St John. We spoke at length about their solar-powered solutions designed to back up or even replace diesel generators in remote job sites. In an industry still heavily reliant on fossil fuels, this was a quiet—but powerful—innovation. They aren’t making speeches about low-carbon futures; they’re installing them.

At the edge of the parking lot away, far away from the front entrance, I spoke with representatives from Prince George’s All Nations Group – an Indigenous-led company that has quietly been doing the unglamorous but essential work of wildfire mitigation for more than 30-years. Their crews are out year-round, clearing fuel, mulching high-risk areas, and supporting cultural burns. Their approach blends traditional knowledge and modern forestry tools in a way that feels both ancient and, suddenly, urgently new.

On my walkabout, I also ran into Catalyst Finance Company. They were in town from Pemberton, of all places! They weren’t front and centre with a booth either. They were on a walkabout of their own. Armed with pocketful of business cards, they were eager to let vendors know they were interested in serving an industry that many of the ‘big guys’ may be reluctant to cater to.

That’s when the story became clear to me.

COFI spoke of transformation. The Resource Expo showed us where things are at.

It’s easy to be inspired by vision. But we also need to be grounded in what’s real. And what’s real is that the forest industry is evolving—not away from forestry, but toward protection, resilience, and practical stewardship. The future will still involve timber, but increasingly it will involve fire mitigation, energy transition, and land management.

We’re entering a chapter defined by more than just how much we harvest. It’s also about how we protect our forest so that it sustains us. The companies that showed up this year—small, focused, and action-oriented—are the ones writing that chapter.

I, for one, am paying close attention.