New OSB mill construction in Prince Albert set for 2025

After years of delays and planning, a new oriented strand board (OSB) mill is coming to Prince Albert.

"We're not saying we're getting an OSB plant," Prince Albert Mayor Greg Dionne said. "We now have one."

The province announced the new $543 million plant Thursday, which is expected to start construction in 2025 and will open in 2027.

One Sky Forest Products will build and operate the mill in partnership with multiple First Nations and Indigenous companies who have invested into One Sky.

After first announcing timber allocations in 2021 to help get the mill built, One Sky CEO Brian Fehr says too much time passed and the company instead took up an opportunity in Alabama. Thursday's announcement of 1.2 million cubic metres of timber and current market conditions lead Fehr to believe the mill will be built soon.

"I don't want to ever see Scott Moe if this doesn't go ahead like I'm serious," Fehr said. "I wouldn't be standing here if I didn't believe I was going to go ahead."

Indigenous Forestry Investments was formed by the four shareholders of One Sky -- Montreal Lake Business Ventures, Meadow Lake Tribal Council, Big River First Nation, and Tatanka Oyate Holdings -- to bring a unified Indigenous voice to the communities they represent.

Fehr said right now he's 95 per cent confident the mill will go ahead, but before construction can begin One Sky will need to bring in more partners, investment, and money to build the mill and work with the province to secure a cost-effective supply route to ensure the timber isn't being trucked in from far away.

"We still have the fiber, we still have the opportunity, we have the infrastructure, we have the access to the market," Premier Scott Moe said. "You have the regulatory will from the government, so there are many opportunities that are here."

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Moe said the province has set a target of doubling Saskatchewan's forestry sector by 2030, and One Sky's mill will help meet that target with increased participation from Indigenous businesses and roughly 800 jobs for northern residents.

OSB is an engineered wood panel, which is similar to plywood and is a preferred material in home construction for roof, wall, and floor sheathing.

However, plans to revive the pulp mill northeast of the city appear to be on hold. Fehr doesn't believe pulp is a viable product in today's market and getting Paper Excellence's mill up and running will be too expensive.

"If that’s bad I am sorry, but I just don’t believe it myself," Fehr said.

The pulp and paper mill in Prince Albert was established by Weyerhaeuser Pulp and Paper in 1988. The company began to shut down its operations in 2006 and sold the property and assets to Domtar in 2008.

In 2011, Domtar sold the property to Paper Excellence. A non-compete clause that prevented Paper Excellence from producing pulp at the mill ended in March 2020.

Paper Excellence announced plans to reopen the pulp mill in February 2021, and a tour of the facility followed in May 2022.

Fehr said One Sky's Prince Albert mill will share a site with Paper Excellence in what he called "an integrated forest products" site.

The province plans to double the size of Saskatchewan's forestry sector by 2030, and a mill in Prince Albert will help the province get there. While Fehr is happy to be doing business in Saskatchewan instead of British Columbia.

"Don't ever underestimate how pissed off I am at my own province. We can't do anything there anymore -- It's just disgusting," Fehr said, before saying what a pleasure it's been to work with the provincial government.

"Compared to the bullshit we get in British Columbia. Holy smokes."