Environmental group Sierra Club B.C. launched a high-profile advertising campaign during the FIFA World Cup in Vancouver, drawing international attention to the province's controversial old-growth logging practices. The ads, which appear on billboards, buildings, streaming services, television, and SkyTrain stations, claim that an average of 100 soccer fields of old-growth forest are still clear-cut every day in British Columbia.
Campaign Details and Key Statistic
The figure originates from a 2025 Sierra Club B.C. report titled Closer to the Brink, which assessed the state of B.C.'s forests. The campaign coincides with the World Cup to leverage global visibility. Shelley Luce, campaign director at Sierra Club B.C., stated: “The World Cup reminds us of our unique place in the world when it comes to our forests — they are globally rare and disappearing under our watch. British Columbia is home to some of the last endangered old-growth forests on Earth. As the world turns its attention to Vancouver, the B.C. government has an opportunity to lead the world by taking real steps to protect these precious ecosystems for future generations.”
Government Response and Counterclaims
B.C.’s Forest Ministry responded with an emailed statement noting that there are 111,000 square kilometres of old forests in the province, of which 89,000 square kilometres (80 per cent) are either protected, deferred, or uneconomic to harvest. The ministry argued that clear-cutting of old-growth is declining, with harvesting estimates showing a decline of approximately 69 per cent since 2015. However, the Sierra Club contends that despite government promises, clear-cutting continues at an alarming rate.
Definition and Context of Old-Growth Forests
The province defines old-growth forests as those older than 250 years in coastal and Interior wet-belt ecosystems, and more than 140 years in Interior dry ecosystems. Last year, conservation groups and First Nations called on the government to act on a five-year-old promise to overhaul the logging industry to protect these ecosystems. The World Cup ads aim to renew pressure on the provincial government to take concrete action.
