Skip to Content News Archives Economy Energy Oil & Gas Renewables Electric Vehicles Mining Commodities Agriculture Real Estate Mortgages Mortgage Rates Finance Banking Insurance Fintech Cryptocurrency Work Wealth Smart Money Wealth Management Investor Personal Finance Family Finance Retirement Taxes High Net Worth FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials More Innovation Information Technology FP500 Podcasts Small Business Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Financial Post Store Obituaries Place a Notice Advertising Advertising With Us Advertising Solutions Postmedia Ad Manager Sponsorship Requests Classifieds Place a Classifieds ad Working Profile Settings My Subscriptions My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ News Economy Energy Mining Real Estate Finance Work Wealth Investor FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials HomeCommoditiesNewsWorkLayoffs begin as Nova Scotia pine products face steep Trump tariffsForest Nova Scotia president says tariffs 'will essentially kill the white pine market in Nova Scotia'Last updated 1 hour ago Nova Scotia's softwood lumber exports south of the border have been spared from U.S. tariffs, but pine products from the province are facing steep new costs in the deepening trade rift between Canada and the United States. Photo by James MacDonald/PostmediaNova Scotia’s softwood lumber exports south of the border have been spared from Donald Trump’s tariffs, but pine products from the province are facing steep new costs in the deepening trade rift between Canada and the United States.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorAbout 60 to 80 per cent of Nova Scotia’s pine products — some $25 million worth — are shipped to the U.S., and they have been hammered with 50 per cent tariffs imposed by the president over the weekend.The province’s forestry industry said the tariffs “will essentially kill the white pine market in Nova Scotia.”FP Work touches on HR strategy, labour economics, office culture, technology and more.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Work will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again“It’s concerning,” Breck Stuart, president of Forest Nova Scotia, said in an interview Monday. “The western half of Nova Scotia, where there’s a lot of white pine, that’s 30 per cent of our forest. That market basically went to zero overnight. Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a news conference at the Davie Shipyard in Levis, Que., on Monday. Photo by Francis Vachon /Postmedia.“Mouldings and doors and some of the value-added pine products are all on that tariff list. Most of the pine that we make goes into one of those value-added categories like tongue and groove, textured edge, pine mouldings, pine door frames, pine doors, all of those things.”Stuart, who also serves as general manager of WestFor, the company that manages Crown land in western Nova Scotia for sawmill owners, said most of the province’s pine products flow through Freeman Lumber in Greenfield, Millett Lumber in Chester and Lewis Moulding and Wood Specialties in Weymouth.“The U.S. has been a huge part of our market for us over the years,” he said. “We’ve really relied on that and fed into that market. It’s more profitable; it’s easy.“If we ship the raw materials to the U.S. and they did the value-adding part, the manufacturing, they would be happy with that. That aligns with what Trump’s been saying, that he wants the jobs in the factories there.”That’s why softwood lumber exports from the province have been protected under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).Stuart said he had been working with the Forest Products Association of Canada through the past week on the issue. But layoffs have already been issued.“They’re basically working towards closures,” he said.“The horses have left the barn. The sooner we can do something, if something happens quickly, the sooner we can get up and running. It takes time. The mills will stop buying pine from woodlots and wood owners and management companies. They’ll have to find something to do with the rest of the wood they have in their yards. But eventually that will stop and, over time, woodlot owners, especially the ones with a lot of pine, won’t be able to do anything.”Trump’s 50 per cent tariffs on roughly $28 billion in Canadian goods went into effect Saturday after negotiations between the U.S. and Canada fell apart Friday. The levies hit exports in plastics, machinery, dairy, certain wood and paper products, alcohol and some agricultural products.Nova Scotia’s blueberries, the province’s largest agricultural export, escaped the latest tariffs. The products continue to be compliant under CUSMA for trade and haven’t been hit with new tariffs. About 80 to 90 per cent of apples exported from Nova Scotia go to the U.S. Photo by Jason Malloy /PostmediaThe province’s apple industry also missed this round of U.S. tariffs. Apples are exempt from tariffs as CUSMA-compliant goods.But there remain concerns around the uncertainty of trade with one of the industry’s largest markets.“Should the tariffs be applied to apples, particularly, we would be in enormous trouble,” said Emily Lutz, executive director of the Nova Scotia Fruit Growers’ Association.“Tariffs on apples would significantly impact Nova Scotia fruit growers, who rely heavily on the U.S. market for exports. While currently exempt, the threat of tariffs creates anxiety among farmers, who are exploring alternative markets like Asia to mitigate potential losses. The situation has also increased consumer awareness and support for Canadian-grown fruits and vegetables.”Lutz said about 80 to 90 per cent of apples exported from the province go to the U.S.“Farmers are used to dealing with things outside of their control,” she continued. “The weather is unpredictable. Government regulations can be unpredictable. Access to labour can be unpredictable. And now global markets are more unpredictable than they used to be. There’s a general sense of nervousness.“We are hugely reliant here in Nova Scotia on the United States as a trading partner . . . and rely heavily on them to receive our exported fruit.”The province’s tree-fruit industry includes apples, peaches, plums and cherries, but apples account for about 95 per cent of the sector.Nova Scotia apple exports generate close to $31 million per year, according to the provincial government.Apple growers have exported to Vietnam, Hong Kong and Cuba, and the industry is looking to expand further into Asia.“We’re currently doing work in Taiwan and Vietnam to try and expand markets there because we know, should the tariffs arrive on Nova Scotia apples, we will be in enormous trouble. We’re trying to prepare,” Lutz said.“We have been exploring other markets and making headway into other markets over the last several years. But regardless, geography plays an enormous role when it comes to shipping produce because it’s perishable and the U.S. is our next-door neighbour. We are preparing a backup plan for sure.”While apple growers produce far more fruit than Nova Scotians consume, Lutz encourages residents to continue supporting local producers.She said there’s been a groundswell of support for Canadian fruits and vegetables.“It’s created a general awareness that Canadian fruit should be picked up first by the shopper, and it has definitely aided our efforts to try to encourage people to purchase local fruits and vegetables,” she said.“Consumers are going to the grocery store and looking for Canadian products. We know retailers, grocery stores are doing much more work to get that Canadian and Nova Scotian label on things so that people can see and be aware when they’re shopping.” Emily Lutz, the executive director of the Nova Scotia Fruit Growers’ Association, said about 80 to 90 per cent of apples exported from the province go to the U.S. Photo by Carole Morris-Underhill /PostmediaNova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said the tariffs are a sign the province needs to become more self-reliant.Some businesses may have to assess their decisions around the U.S. market.“We will work together to do everything possible to protect the massive number of Nova Scotian and Canadian families, workers and businesses that have now been added to the large list of those directly impacted by President Trump’s devastating tariffs,” Houston said in a release.He said Canada can no longer rely on its southern neighbour and the only way forward is to build the province’s industries to fill the gaps.“It’s clear that we cannot trust or rely on the United States as we once did. This reality must make us more determined than ever to make Nova Scotia and Canada stronger,” Houston said in the release.“For Nova Scotia that means developing our own energy, developing our own natural resources and finding new markets for Nova Scotian goods and services. We have tremendous opportunities and I am fully committed to seizing them. Building up Nova Scotia is the only true path to protecting our future. Potential doesn’t build hospitals and roads. Turning potential into reality does.”In 2025, when Trump attacked Canada’s economy with a series of tariffs, Canadian provinces pulled American alcohol products, including in all Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. stores. U.S. alcohol remains off the shelves.“The NSLC . . . is not importing any products that are made, manufactured, or produced in the United States. Any decision regarding future imports of U.S. products rests with the province,” NSLC spokesperson Terah McKinnon said in an emailed statement Monday.The move meant more shelf space and sales for Canadian and Nova Scotian products. At the time, the tariffs seemed to encourage consumers to embrace products made closer to home.“Following the province’s announcement on March 4, 2025, we did see an increase in Nova Scotia product sales compared to sales from the previous year. Since then, sales of these products have tapered,” McKinnon said.Only a couple of the province’s wineries sold to the U.S. In 2025. At Benjamin Bridge, the American market represented just under 0.5 per cent of its business.Wine Growers Nova Scotia, which represents wineries that use 90 per cent Nova Scotia grapes, said local beverage and wine sales are up.One bottle of Nova Scotia wine puts $95 into the province’s economy, while wines from outside the province create only about $14, the interest group said.“We don’t fear the competition,” Melissa Herbin, the group’s executive director, told The Chronicle Herald recently. “We believe we have a really loyal base here.” U.S. alcohol remains off the shelves at Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation stores. Photo by NSLCStuart said that Canada-first focus is urgently needed in his sector. Other countries have been allowed to dump cheap pine products into Canada, making it increasingly difficult for domestic producers to compete.“There’s no tariff on those laminated pine shelving units, mouldings and finger-jointed product from China, South America, the IKEA sorts,” Stuart said.He said manufacturers in those countries face tariff restrictions when exporting to the U.S., prompting them to redirect products into Canada.“China and the other countries have tariff restrictions into the U.S., as well, so they just dump their product into Canada,” Stuart said. “We can’t compete in our own domestic market because we’ve got all these cheap things coming in. And now we’ve been pushed out of the U.S. market.”Stuart said he has been urging the federal government to take steps to protect Canadian manufacturers, including considering tariffs on Chinese wood products.“We should be protecting our own market just like the U.S.,” he said.Canada announced retaliatory tariffs Tuesday. Those come into effect on Sept. 8.With files from The Chronicle Herald Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.