Fur harvesters in northern Ont. hoping for better days ahead as live auction planned for spring

After a tumultuous few years, there's some hope that the Canadian fur industry can begin to bounce back, with plans to once again host in-person fur auctions in northern Ontario this spring. 

In 2019, the North American Fur Auction. one of the largest players in the industry, filed for bankruptcy protection with Deloitte, leaving the Fur Harvesters Inc. auction, in North Bay, Ont., as the main player in Canadian fur.

Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, shutting down the international travel so key to the fur and auction industry. 

That meant the traditional, in- person fur auctions, went to an online platform.

This March, the plan is for the fur auctions to go back to being in person, if the COVID-19 protocols allow it.

"We are optimistic that a live auction can happen this year," said Mark Downey, the executive director of the Fur Harvesters Auction. 

"Our plan was to pick our sale dates for the end of March [March 27 and 28] and that will be our first sale of the 2022 season ... We figured  that was our best chance of having an old school, live traditional auction." 

Although the online auction did help move product during the pandemic, it was second best to having an in-person experience, Downey said. 

"You can't do justice to a sample of fancy sables with a picture on the Internet." he said. "There's nothing that beats when you run your hands through fur, looking at it in person compared to getting on the phone."

Another hit came from luxury fashion companies that have announced they are dropping the use of fur, or plan to. 

Canada Goose may be the most-high profile case, when it announced in June 2021 it would phase out the use of fur on its products by the end of 2022.  Several Canada Goose peers, including Versace, Michael Kors and Gucci, also have decided to stop using fur, while apparel makers Nike Inc. and Gap are looking to make their products more sustainable to cater to eco-conscious shoppers.

The main fur Canada Goose had used was coyote, which was use as trim on the company's trademark $1,000 jackets.

Downey said the exit of Canada Goose from the fur industry did have a ripple effect.

"That was a shock." he said. "It definitely has had an impact."