Learning from Finland: Part I

As Canada’s forest sector grapples with shrinking fibre supplies, devastating wildfires and growing pressure to create more value from every harvested tree, industry leaders are increasingly looking to Finland for ideas.

The Nordic country, though much smaller than Canada, has become internationally recognized for its active forest management, efficient fibre utilization and thriving forest bioeconomy. Delegations from across Canada – including British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Québec – have strengthened ties with Finland in

recent years to explore practices that could help modernize Canada’s forest sector.

The goal, however, is not to replicate Finland’s forestry model.

“Canada has different operating conditions, regulations and culture,” Mathieu Blouin, president and CEO of FPInnovations, told Madison’s Lumber Reporter.

“Rather than copying Finland or other countries, the industry is identifying what has been successful and determining which approaches can be adapted for efficient deployment in Canada”.

Canada’s interest in Finnish forestry has grown rapidly in recent years

In April 2024, Finland and Nova Scotia signed a five-year action plan to strengthen cooperation in forests and the bioeconomy. The agreement focuses on forest management, digital forestry, education, research and developing new wood-based products through “more efficient utilisation of materials such as forest industry side streams.”

“We are transforming how we do forestry in Nova Scotia and there is much we can learn from our colleagues in Finland to help reach climate change goals and grow our green economies,” said Colton LeBlanc, Nova Scotia’s Minister of Cyber Security and Digital Solutions, speaking on behalf of the province’s natural resources minister.

The collaboration continued later that year when Finland was named the feature country at the Scaling Up Bioeconomy Conference in Ottawa.

Finland’s Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari Essayah led a delegation of Finnish companies, researchers and government officials to Canada, where she described Canada as “an important strategic, northern and like-minded partner” and said both countries want to expand cooperation in sustainable forestry, forest management, bioeconomy and innovation.

The relationship deepened further in August 2025, when Finland and Quebec signed a declaration of intent to strengthen collaboration in forest-based bioeconomy, wood construction, forest management, climate change adaptation, forest inventories and forest products trade. Finland noted that it already had forestry cooperation agreements with B.C. and Nova Scotia.

Industry partnerships have expanded as well. In late 2025, representatives from the Ontario Woodlot Association, Forests Canada, CRIBE, FPInnovations and Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources met with delegates from Finland’s Natural Resources Institute (LUKE) to explore collaboration in biomass utilization and the circular economy.

B.C. has also strengthened ties through the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship, which has led study tours to Finland since 2023 involving government officials, researchers, First Nations representatives and forestry professionals.

The exchange has become increasingly two-way. According to Business Joensuu, a regional economic development organization that promotes Finland’s forest and bioeconomy sector internationally, about 300 forestry professionals representing more than 100 organizations have visited the Joensuu region over the past two years to study Finland’s forestry expertise.