The federal government is setting up a safety net of loans, product-development grants and market diversification plans for Canada’s softwood lumber industry in an effort to shield it from the worst of American duties and fees.

Canada’s new government will double the pace of homebuilding to almost 500,000 new homes a year over the next decade. That alone will double the use of Canadian softwood lumber in residential construction – an increase of almost 2 billion board feet – and it will double demand for structural panels – an increase of almost 1 billion square feet.