The CEO of the pulp and paper mill in Kapuskasing, Ont., says he was not surprised, but is disappointed by U.S. tariffs that are expected to have a big impact on Canada's forestry sector.

"The pulp and paper business is in a very difficult place in Ontario," said Terry Skiffington, the CEO of Kap Paper.

In January, the century-old mill, historically known as Spruce Falls, received a $10-million loan from the provincial government in January to help the business diversify and keep it open through lean times.

The province argued at the time that the loan would protect 2,500 jobs in the region, including the 300 people who work directly at the mill.

In December 2023 the pulp and paper mill in Espanola, Ont., owned by Domtar, closed its operations. That left Kapuskasing as the last paper mill standing in northeastern Ontario.

In addition to diversifying the business, by building a biomass plant which would produce energy by burning wood that can't be used for paper production, Skiffinton said Kap Paper, and the forestry industry at large need to look at markets outside the United States.

Skiffington said that will mean focusing on products that are in higher demand in European and Asian markets.

"We can move products into Europe, into Asia and into India relatively competitively, which is quite odd intuitively when we're sitting, essentially, in the geographic centre of Canada," he said.

The 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports to the U.S. were levied on top of decades of softwood lumber tariffs.

And U.S. President Donald Trump said he's exploring further fees on Canadian wood products.

"I'm feeling like I've done a few rounds in the ring with Mike Tyson over the last little while, but our intention is to remain on that course," Skiffington said.

At the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) mining conference in Toronto, the sentiment from smaller Ontario companies was to rally together in the face of tariffs.

"The side that I've been hearing more so right now is that it's actually just going to push us to be that much stronger and to support each other and what we're up to within the mining industry," said Kayla Nestler, the general manager at L. May, a Sudbury-based company that makes aluminum lunch boxes for underground miners.

Nestler said nearly half of L. May's customers are based in the U.S. and tariffs could eventually lead to a price increase due to higher costs of manufacturing the lunch boxes.

"We do hold intellectual property for the design of our product in both Canada and in the States, which means we don't have direct competitors in either country," she said.

She said a possible silver lining from tariffs is a growing movement from Canadian businesses and customers to support each other and buy Canadian.

"I think we're going to have to encourage each other. We're going to have to work together," Nestler said.

"We're going to have to come up with solutions because I mean, if we don't, then we're just giving ourselves up essentially. I know that may sound horrible, but we need to make sure that we're supporting the businesses that can help leverage each other."