Quesnel River Pulp halts production indefinitely, months after $100M federal loan to owner

Millar Western is halting production at the Quesnel River Pulp mill indefinitely, B.C. Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson said Monday, calling it a “hard blow” for the mill’s workers and their families in the Cariboo city.

Workers at the Quesnel mill have been off since September, when the company said it was shutting the mill temporarily. Doerkson, who represents the area, said the company has “left the door open” to restarting operations and will work with the city to figure out how to “walk through it.”

Doerkson said mills need faster access to timber and permits to keep running, but warned there is no “overnight fix.”

The federal loan

The decision comes four months after Ottawa announced a $100-million loan to Millar Western Forest Products for tariff-related assistance. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said in July the loan “will provide the company with the flexibility to strengthen its near-term operations.”

Neither the premier-designate’s statement nor the federal announcement says whether any conditions on that loan relate to keeping the Quesnel mill operating.

With files from The Canadian Press.

Photo: Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson speaks to the newly elected Conservative caucus in Victoria on Nov. 2, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito