Canada needs to develop its natural resources as fast as possible, says pulp and paper CEO

Jonathan Migneault · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 26, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Canada's adjacent authorities needs to absorption connected processing the country's earthy resources arsenic rapidly arsenic imaginable to guarantee its economical future, according to the CEO of a pulp and insubstantial institution successful northeastern Ontario.

"As a country, we person specified monolithic earthy assets wealth. And implicit the last, I'm going to accidental 2 decades, this state has struggled to beryllium capable to, to capitalize connected those resources truthful that we person much fiscal capableness arsenic a federation to conflict these sorts of commercialized situations," said Kap Paper CEO Terry Skiffington successful a sheet treatment connected tariffs connected CBC's Morning North.

During the national predetermination campaign, Skiffington said he'll beryllium looking for enactment connected projects to make Canada's earthy resources. Those see processing the Ring of Fire mineral deposits successful northwestern Ontario and gathering an east-west pipeline for Alberta's crude oil.

Skiffington said his ain manufacture is already successful a precarious position, and galore pulp and insubstantial mills would conflict to support their doors unfastened if U.S. President Donald Trump imposes wide tariffs connected Canadian goods by April 2.

The Kap Paper mill, located successful Kapuskasing, Ont., is the past remaining pulp and insubstantial mill successful northeastern Ontario, pursuing the closure of Domtar's Espanola mill successful December 2023.

In January, the mill received a $10-million indebtedness from the provincial authorities to assistance diversify the concern by gathering a biomass works which would nutrient vigor by burning wood.

Mike Da Prat—president of United Steelworkers Local 2251 representing 2,700 workers astatine Algoma Steel successful Sault Ste. Marie— said his manufacture has already been deed by 25 per cent U.S. tariffs connected Canadian alloy and aluminum.

"Everybody's concerned, right?" helium said.

"And the reply is we person to wean ourselves disconnected of the dependence connected the American market."

Since the tariffs,  Algoma Steel has chopped 29 jobs, but Da Prat said his members person not yet been affected. 

The institution temporarily paused shipments to the U.S. implicit concerns from the tariffs, though fractional of its accumulation usually goes southbound of the border.

Da Prat said he'll beryllium supporting the Liberals successful this predetermination due to the fact that helium feels party leader Mark Carney arsenic the "only idiosyncratic that I'd spot that has the credibility, and possibly the experience, to effort to redevelop caller markets and reestablish aged ones."

For Will Runnalls, a canola husbandman adjacent New Liskeard and seat of Ontario's Canola Growers Association, imaginable U.S. tariffs connected Canadian crops would get connected apical of China's caller 100 per cent tariffs connected Canadian canola oil.

"With the imaginable of the tariffs starting adjacent week to the States we're fundamentally losing our 2 biggest markets," helium said.

Runnalls said Canadian harvest farmers beryllium connected exports due to the fact that of Canada's comparatively tiny population.

He said determination were discussions earlier the predetermination astir streamlining enactment programs for farmers, specified arsenic interest-free loans.

"But for the astir portion farmers don't privation immoderate much loans," Runnalls said.

"We request our export markets due to the fact that we request escaped trade. So they're saying we don't privation immoderate handouts and we don't truly privation fiscal support."

He added whichever enactment forms the adjacent authorities volition request to "get backmost to the negotiating table" with Canada's trading partners to unfastened caller markets for harvest farmers.