Dear Members, Stakeholders, and Industry Colleagues:
2025 has been a consequential year for Canada’s forest sector. Economic uncertainty, continued trade pressures, and evolving global markets are reshaping the conditions in which our industry operates and reinforcing the importance of strengthening domestic demand and expanding market opportunities for wood products.
Government and industrial strategies emerging in response to these conditions have significant potential to deliver meaningful opportunities for our members. Accordingly, the Canadian Wood Council has been working to advance the adoption of practical, scalable wood-based construction solutions in both public and private sector procurement and increase domestic demand for wood products.
Kevin Pankratz
Canada’s housing crisis continues to require urgent and coordinated action and, while affordability remains a central concern, Canadians also need homes that are durable, healthy, sustainable, and genuinely livable – and they need them now. Wood construction is uniquely positioned to help meet this challenge. From light wood frame systems and prefabricated panels to mass timber and hybrid construction, there is a full range of wood-based solutions that can support faster project delivery, improve construction productivity, and create high-performance housing that responds to the needs of communities across the country.
Recent government initiatives, including the Build Canada Homes federal policy objective to double the pace of homebuilding and deliver 500,000 new homes per year for the next decade, signal the scale and urgency of this moment. However, before the announcements were made, the CWC had already been hard at work behind the scenes.
In December, we convened a national roundtable that brought together leaders from across the forest products manufacturing supply chain to discuss the role of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) in accelerating housing delivery. These conversations reinforced the importance of coordination across the value chain and highlighted the readiness of the wood sector to contribute meaningful solutions. We will continue working closely with industry, governments, and construction partners to help ensure wood products and prefabricated building systems are positioned to play a leading role in this generational housing effort.
Throughout the year, we leveraged our leadership position in wood construction for the benefit of our members by helping shape the National Building Code 2025, advancing key updates to CSA O86, and representing the industry across more than 100 national and international codes and standards committees. These efforts strengthen market access for wood products while ensuring the industry’s voice remains influential in an increasingly complex regulatory environment.
At the same time, the team continued important work further downstream, bridging technical leadership with practical implementation through new design tools, WoodWorks® software updates, and the highly effective outreach conducted across Canada by our regional WoodWorks teams. Our ongoing work continues to make wood easier to specify and build with, while strategically supporting broader government priorities tied to housing, productivity, and low-carbon construction that allow us to access the public funding that leverages industry investment to deliver maximum value and impact for our members.
As a Board, we remain focused on ensuring strong governance, financial stewardship, and strategic alignment across the organization. This year, we took an important step toward greater collaboration across the broader forest sector value chain by making communications and government relations a shared service between the Canadian Wood Council and the Forest Products Association of Canada. This closer alignment strengthens our collective positioning and advocacy efforts — connecting expertise and leadership from sustainable forest management and manufacturing through to code advancement and innovation in the built environment. By aligning our expertise and outreach, we are building a more coordinated and influential voice for Canada’s forest and wood products sector.
On behalf of the Board, I want to extend my sincere appreciation to our President and CEO and to the entire CWC team. Their work continues to position the Canadian wood industry as a trusted and forward-looking contributor to Canada’s economic and construction landscape.
Thank you also to my fellow members of the Board, member delegates, and advisors, whose guidance, expertise, and ongoing engagement continue to strengthen the Council’s work and strategic direction.
As governments, industry, and the building sector work to address housing supply, productivity, and climate objectives, CWC will continue to advocate for practical solutions that expand the use of wood across the built environment. Thank you for your partnership and continued commitment to this important work.
As I conclude my term as Chair, it has been an honour to work alongside such a strong team over the past three years. I am proud of what has been accomplished, particularly in a period marked by significant volatility and broader geopolitical uncertainty. The focus, collaboration, and steady leadership demonstrated through these challenges speak to the strength of the CWC and its role has never been more important, and I have full confidence in its ability to carry this work forward.
Yours truly,
Kevin Pankratz
Board Chair
Canadian Wood Council
Dear Members, Stakeholders, and Industry Colleagues:
2025 has been a consequential year for Canada’s forest sector. Economic uncertainty, continued trade pressures, and evolving global markets are reshaping the conditions in which our industry operates and reinforcing the importance of strengthening domestic demand and expanding market opportunities for wood products.
Government and industrial strategies emerging in response to these conditions have significant potential to deliver meaningful opportunities for our members. Accordingly, the Canadian Wood Council has been working to advance the adoption of practical, scalable wood-based construction solutions in both public and private sector procurement and increase domestic demand for wood products.
Canada’s housing crisis continues to require urgent and coordinated action and, while affordability remains a central concern, Canadians also need homes that are durable, healthy, sustainable, and genuinely livable – and they need them now. Wood construction is uniquely positioned to help meet this challenge. From light wood frame systems and prefabricated panels to mass timber and hybrid construction, there is a full range of wood-based solutions that can support faster project delivery, improve construction productivity, and create high-performance housing that responds to the needs of communities across the country.
Recent government initiatives, including the Build Canada Homes federal policy objective to double the pace of homebuilding and deliver 500,000 new homes per year for the next decade, signal the scale and urgency of this moment. However, before the announcements were made, the CWC had already been hard at work behind the scenes.
In December, we convened a national roundtable that brought together leaders from across the forest products manufacturing supply chain to discuss the role of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) in accelerating housing delivery. These conversations reinforced the importance of coordination across the value chain and highlighted the readiness of the wood sector to contribute meaningful solutions. We will continue working closely with industry, governments, and construction partners to help ensure wood products and prefabricated building systems are positioned to play a leading role in this generational housing effort.
Throughout the year, we leveraged our leadership position in wood construction for the benefit of our members by helping shape the National Building Code 2025, advancing key updates to CSA O86, and representing the industry across more than 100 national and international codes and standards committees. These efforts strengthen market access for wood products while ensuring the industry’s voice remains influential in an increasingly complex regulatory environment.
At the same time, the team continued important work further downstream, bridging technical leadership with practical implementation through new design tools, WoodWorks® software updates, and the highly effective outreach conducted across Canada by our regional WoodWorks teams. Our ongoing work continues to make wood easier to specify and build with, while strategically supporting broader government priorities tied to housing, productivity, and low-carbon construction that allow us to access the public funding that leverages industry investment to deliver maximum value and impact for our members.
As a Board, we remain focused on ensuring strong governance, financial stewardship, and strategic alignment across the organization. This year, we took an important step toward greater collaboration across the broader forest sector value chain by making communications and government relations a shared service between the Canadian Wood Council and the Forest Products Association of Canada. This closer alignment strengthens our collective positioning and advocacy efforts — connecting expertise and leadership from sustainable forest management and manufacturing through to code advancement and innovation in the built environment. By aligning our expertise and outreach, we are building a more coordinated and influential voice for Canada’s forest and wood products sector.
On behalf of the Board, I want to extend my sincere appreciation to our President and CEO and to the entire CWC team. Their work continues to position the Canadian wood industry as a trusted and forward-looking contributor to Canada’s economic and construction landscape.
Thank you also to my fellow members of the Board, member delegates, and advisors, whose guidance, expertise, and ongoing engagement continue to strengthen the Council’s work and strategic direction.
As governments, industry, and the building sector work to address housing supply, productivity, and climate objectives, CWC will continue to advocate for practical solutions that expand the use of wood across the built environment. Thank you for your partnership and continued commitment to this important work.
As I conclude my term as Chair, it has been an honour to work alongside such a strong team over the past three years. I am proud of what has been accomplished, particularly in a period marked by significant volatility and broader geopolitical uncertainty. The focus, collaboration, and steady leadership demonstrated through these challenges speak to the strength of the CWC and its role has never been more important, and I have full confidence in its ability to carry this work forward.
Yours truly,
Kevin Pankratz
Board Chair
Canadian Wood Council
Kevin Pankratz
