British ColumbiaThis week’s announcement that the mill in Crofton, B.C., is closing permanently is reverberating through the small Vancouver Island community — even if many say the news doesn’t come as a total surprise. Union president says he will ask province for compensation for 350 laid off workersMaryse Zeidler · CBC News · Posted: Dec 03, 2025 8:20 PM EST | Last Updated: 1 hour agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.The pulp mill in Crofton, B.C., will be closing permanently. (Roszan Holmen/CBC)This week’s announcement that the mill in Crofton, B.C., is closing permanently is reverberating through the small Vancouver Island community — even if many say the news doesn’t come as a total surprise. Retired worker Brian Dice was employed at the mill on and off for 20 years, and his son worked there until last year when the company curtailed its paper operations. “Put my heart and soul into the place, and now it’s shut down — which is a sad day for me and everybody working there,” Dice said, while enjoying a lunch at the Brass Bell pub in Crofton. Dice says that for a long time there was a rumour that the mill would shut down. Even so, the news hit hard for the community of about 1,400, located 70 kilometres north of Victoria.”Everybody’s kind of in shock, actually, how quickly it happened,” Dice said.Read more news from Vancouver Island 350 workers laid offOn Tuesday the company that runs the mill, Domtar, announced that pulp operations at the mill will come to an end and the entire mill will be shut down.Its 350 workers will be out of a job starting February.The company says the primary issue is access to wood fibre to make the pulp. WATCH | Over 165 jobs lost with closure of longtime B.C. lumber mill:Over 165 jobs lost with closure of longtime B.C. lumber millMore than 160 people will soon lose their jobs as a major lumber mill in the Cariboo will close by the end of the year. As Jacqueline Gelineau reports, this will have major impacts on the community of 100 Mile House, B.C.The union representing the workers, Public and Private Workers of Canada (PPWC), says the company told them operations were running well up until just a couple of weeks ago.”It’s a gut punch to the Cowichan Valley,” said PPWC president Geoff Dawe.”But in the background, for decades, we’ve known there’s been a fibre issue as well as the government has known there’s been a fibre issue.”Trump tariffs lead to more forestry job cuts as B.C. sawmills announce cutbacksDawe was scheduled to meet with Forests Minister Ravi Parmar Wednesday afternoon to discuss the closure and the impact on the workers.He says he would like to see some sort of compensation for the workers, either financial support or jobs retraining — although the latter would be limited.”A lot of the workers here are 50 to 60 years old,” he said. “We’re too old to probably get retrained at an equivalent paying job and we’re too young to retire.”A struggling communityBut the closure affects more than the 350 workers who have been laid off. North Cowichan Mayor Rob Douglas says the company has been paying $5 million in property taxes each year. “We’re scrambling now just as a municipality to figure out how we’re going to continue to deliver our services,” Douglas said.Some businesses in the area are also bracing for impact. Lindsey Mandel, co-founder of the Kalisi Cafe and kids play space in Crofton, says she already had a family cancel a cake order. “It’s right before Christmas and Crofton is already kind of a struggling community, so I’m worried,” she said, adding that her business just opened in July. The local mill’s closure is the latest in a series of B.C. mills permanently ending operations.Last month West Fraser Timber Co. announced it would shut its mill in 100 Mile House by the end of the year, saying it couldn’t reliably access enough economically viable timber either locally or further afield.And a pulp mill in Prince George curtailed operations last year. CorrectionsA previous version of this story said the Domtar mill paid $500 million in property tax each year. In fact the figure quoted by North Cowichan’s mayor was $5 million. Dec 03, 2025 10:00 PM ESTABOUT THE AUTHORMaryse Zeidler is an award-winning reporter who covers news from Nanaimo and north Vancouver Island. Have a news tip? You can reach her at maryse.zeidler@cbc.ca.With files from Roszan Holmen and Emma Jean
News of Crofton mill closure a shock, but not a surprise, to Cowichan Valley residents and businesses
