Premier Showcases Wooden Soccer Ball Abroad While B.C. Company Behind It Faces Closure at Home
VICTORIA, BC: Official Opposition Leader John Rustad is calling out Premier David Eby for promoting innovation overseas while ignoring the potential collapse of the very businesses that make that innovation possible at home.
BC Veneer Products Ltd., a Surrey-based value-added wood manufacturer, supplied the material used in the now-famous “wood-leather soccer ball” Premier Eby promoted during his June 2025 trade mission to Asia. Behind the scenes, BC Veneer is at risk of closing its doors—another casualty of a government that talks about innovation but fails to protect it.
“The Premier held up a wooden soccer ball in Osaka and called it a symbol of B.C.’s ingenuity,” said Rustad. “But while he was posing for the cameras, the very company that made it is on the verge of being forced out of business. This government markets sustainability abroad but lets it die at home.”
Rustad emphasized that BC Veneer’s looming closure is part of a broader pattern under the NDP: job losses in value-added forestry, unstable fibre supply, and a complete lack of strategic support for local manufacturers.
“This government has forgotten who actually builds this province,” Rustad said. “You can’t build a sustainable economy by flying overseas and using near-shuttered B.C. businesses as props. You build it by standing with workers, producers, and exporters right here at home.”
Founded in 1997, BC Veneer supplied high-quality softwood veneer for use in architecture, design, and innovation—including the prototype ball developed by UBC and showcased internationally by the premier.
“This is a government that will promote a soccer ball, but not the people behind it,” Rustad said. “British Columbians deserve a government that supports local success stories, not one that lets them fail quietly after the cameras are gone.”
“We’re not going to stand by while good B.C. businesses collapse. The premier might be chasing headlines overseas, but I’ll keep fighting for the people building things here at home.”
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