Forestry jobs: roles, employers, and how hiring works

Who are the major forestry employers by region?

In BC, West Fraser, Canfor, Interfor, Western Forest Products, and TimberWest run most Interior and coastal harvesting and mill operations, centred on Prince George, Kamloops, Campbell River, and Fort St. John. Across Northern Ontario and Quebec, Resolute, Domtar, Rayonier, and EACOM are the major employers, with operations around Thunder Bay, Kenora, Kapuskasing, Cochrane, Saguenay, Abitibi, Côte-Nord, and Mauricie. In the Maritimes, J.D. Irving and Twin Rivers dominate hiring around Miramichi, Corner Brook, and Bathurst.

Common roles

Harvesting roles include faller/bucker, skidder operator, processor operator, feller buncher operator, and logging truck driver, along with chokerman/hooktender on cable and helicopter operations. Silviculture work covers tree planting and site preparation crews. Mills hire boom boat operators, scalers/cruisers, and mill labourers on top of heavy equipment operators and maintenance staff. Wildfire suppression crews are a seasonal option that overlaps with the harvesting calendar (see /seasons/).

How hiring actually works

Large companies like West Fraser, Canfor, and Irving hire directly for permanent mill and skilled harvesting roles, while contractors run much of the seasonal harvesting and nearly all tree-planting work. Planting contracts run through companies like Replant.ca and regional silviculture contractors rather than the forestry majors themselves. Entry-level planting and mill labourer roles are the easiest way in with no industry experience -- see /pay/ for what those roles typically pay and /seasons/ for when hiring picks up.

Certification and training

Certified faller status in BC requires WorkSafeBC's New Faller Training program plus supervised field experience -- typically 6-24 months before working independently, and a meaningful up-front time and cost investment. Heavy equipment operator roles (skidder, processor, feller buncher) usually require employer-provided or third-party equipment training. Standard First Aid and site-specific safety orientation are near-universal minimums across the industry. See /tickets/ for the full breakdown of what each ticket costs, how long it takes, and how long it stays valid, province by province.