New Brunswick Increasing Stumpage on Crown Lands

New Brunswick forestry companies will soon see an temporary increase in stumpage rates on Crown land before the implementation of a new system that could see stumpage rates adjust on a monthly basis. The temporary boost is in reaction to record lumber prices over the past two years.

Natural Resources Minister Mike Holland said the changes will increase the price the lumber industry pays to harvest wood from Crown lands by about $10 per cubic meter and result in an extra $50 million in government revenue this year. Stumpage rates in New Brunswick have barely budged since 2016 and the provincial government faced increasing pressure to raise timber royalties as lumber prices soared last year.

That new system will be implemented by new legislation tabled in the fall and take effect on April 1, 2023. It will set a base market rate for Crown land stumpage each month, then an additional “upward adjustment” to reflect commodity prices will be applied in order to ensure that Crown land prices don’t undercut private woodlot owners. The revenue generated from that additional adjustment will then go towards helping private woodlot owners manage their land.