As the B.C. commodity lumber sector shutters mills, the B.C. value-added sector serving mass timber construction is surging forward with sales buoyed by a strong U.S. economy clamouring for new buildings and optimism over changes in Canada’s 2020 National Building Code.

B.C. is an early-adopter of the draft of the new 2020 National Building Code, which lands encapsulated mass timber construction (mass timbers that are encapsulated in fire resistant material) into the mid-rise construction market. The new Canadian code allows wood buildings up to 12 storeys and provides guidelines for the tall buildings trend unfolding in B.C., Quebec, and Ontario. U.S. states have also actively been changing building codes to allow more mass timber buildings.