Infographics
Sustainable forestry: Adapting to change
Key facts and figures about Canada’s forests and forest sector
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With 347 million hectares of forest, Canada is the third-most forested country in the world.
Canada has 9% of the world’s forests.
About 270 million hectares, or 78%, of Canada’s forests are located in the boreal zone.
Forests cover 38% of Canada’s land area.Canada’s forests are important to Canadians, the economy and the environment
In 2018, the forest sector directly employed 204,555 people.
In 2019, Canada’s forest sector contributed $23.7 billion to Canada’s nominal GDP.
According to the last census (2016), over 70% of Indigenous people in Canada live in or near forests.
Canada’s boreal wetlands represent nearly 20% of the world’s wetlands.Canada’s forests are managed sustainably for future generations
200 million ha of forest in Canada have a long-term forest management plan (2016).
Canada has 168 million ha of forest certified to third-party standards of sustainable forest management (2019).
77% of Canada’s managed Crown forest land is certified to third-party standards of sustainable forest management.
By law, all forests harvested on public lands must be regenerated.
Canada’s forests and the forest sector are changing
Between 1950 and 1999, the area burned annually in the North American boreal zone more than doubled.
In Canada, newsprint production declined 70% from 9 million tonnes in 1990 to 2.7 million tonnes in 2019 because of increased global competition from other low-cost producers and the increase of digital media.
Advanced bio-based products are expected to make up 50% of consumer products by 2050.Canada’s forest sector is adapting to change
| Area (ha) | Percent of forest area (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Area affected by insects (2018) | 16,391,000 | 4.7% |
| Area burned (2019) | 1,843,000 | 0.5% |
| Area harvested (2018) | 748,000 | 0.2% |
| Area deforested (2018) | 34,000 | 0.01% |
New technology:In 2025, Canada will launch WildFireSat, the world’s first satellite built specifically to monitor wildfires.
New management strategies:Foresters are starting to replant harvested sites with trees better adapted to future climate conditions.
Canada’s forest sector supports the transition toward net-zero emissions
New techniques:Mass timber is an innovative low-carbon, sustainable building material that allows the construction of taller and larger buildings.
New products:Forest biomass is refined into advanced biomaterials and biochemicals for use in health care, pharmaceutical, food and packaging applications. It could be the rayon shirt you are wearing, the compostable container for your take-out food, or one of your ice cream ingredients.
New energy:Forest biomass is the second-largest source of renewable energy after hydroelectricity, providing both heat and electricity to industry and communities (2017).
Sources and information
- General references
- Brandt, J., Flannigan, M., et al. 2013. An introduction to Canada’s boreal zone: ecosystem processes, health, sustainability, and environmental issues. Environmental Reviews 21(4): 207–226.
- Bioindustrial Innovation Canada. 2018. Canada’s Bioeconomy Strategy: Leveraging our Strengths for a Sustainable Future [1.4 Mb PDF].
- Canadian Space Agency. WildFireSat: Enhancing Canada’s ability to manage wildfires.
- Certification Canada. Canadian statistics. (accessed March 11, 2020).
- Double counting of area certified to both FSC and PEFC in 2019 has been removed from the total area of forest certified of Canada.
- Natural Resources Canada–Canadian Forest Service prepared calculations for net forest area certified in other countries based on data from:
- Forest Stewardship Council. 2019. Facts & Figures December 2019. (accessed March 12, 2020).
- Forest Stewardship Council. 2019. Double certifications FSC and PEFC – estimations for mid 2018. [185 kb PDF] (accessed March 12, 2020).
- Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification. 2019. Facts and Figures 2019. (accessed March 12, 2020).
- Certification Canada. Provincial statistics. (accessed May 4, 2020).
- The percentage of managed public forest land area that is certified was calculated for each province and territory in two steps. First, statistics were collected from Certification Canada, except for Quebec and Nova Scotia, to calculate area of public forest that is certified. Next, this area was divided by the area of managed public forest land. The area of managed public forest land was calculated using the map of forest management in Canada, 2017 version, including all public lands that have long- or short-term forest tenure, except for British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
- Map of forest management in Canada, 2017 version.
- Provincial government statistics for the certified area were used for Quebec and Nova Scotia.
- Statistics from provincial governments for the managed public forest land area were used instead of GIS calculations based on the Map of forest management in Canada, 2017 version, for British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
- Note that, for consistency with certification statistics, managed public forest land area includes forest and non-forest land areas within forest tenure areas.
- Dyk, A., Leckie, D., et al. 2015. Canada’s National Deforestation Monitoring System: System Description. Victoria, British Columbia: Natural Resources Canada–Canadian Forest Service, Pacific Forestry Centre.
- Describes Canada’s deforestation monitoring system. Note that the system was initially set up for greenhouse gas inventory and forest carbon accounting purposes, so it uses the greenhouse gas inventory and carbon accounting definition of forest.
- National deforestation estimates are calculated on a periodic basis using the method described in Canada’s National Deforestation Monitoring System: System Description.
- Data provided by the National Deforestation Monitoring System, special tabulation, March 12, 2020.
- Environment and Climate Change Canada. 2020. National Inventory Report 1990–2018: Greenhouse Gas Sources and Sinks in Canada.
- Environment and Climate Change Canada’s National Inventory Report 1990–2018: Greenhouse Gas Sources and Sinks in Canada is based on data and analysis from Natural Resources Canada–Canadian Forest Service’s National Forest Carbon Monitoring, Accounting and Reporting System.
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2014. Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015 Country Report: Canada. Rome, Italy [481 kb PDF].
- Describes the methodology used to adjust the National Forest Inventory baseline estimate of forest area.
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2016. Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015.
- This dataset was used to calculate Canada’s forest area as a proportion of the world’s forest area. It also provided the national forest area of all countries except Canada.
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2018. Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020: Terms and Definitions [1 Mb PDF].
- Forest, afforestation and other terms are defined in this document. Note that Canada uses this definition of forest for most, but not all, purposes. A slightly different definition is used for the national greenhouse gas inventory and forest carbon accounting.
- Kasischke, E., Turetsky, M. 2006. Recent changes in the fire regime across the North American boreal region–Spatial and temporal patterns of burning across Canada and Alaska. Geophysical Research Letters 33(9).
- National Forest Inventory. Standard reports, Table 4.0. Area (1000 ha) of forest and non-forest land in Canada. (accessed March 29, 2020).
- Baseline estimate of Canada’s forest area.
- NFI baseline photo plot data collected during 2000–2006 were used to estimate the forest area within protected areas, assuming no change in forest area between 1990 and 2016. The forest area is generally stable in Canada and protected areas are typically less subject to land-use change than non-protected areas.
- The forest area is not the same as the area of tree cover. Some treed areas, such as treed urban and agricultural land areas, are not classified as forest. Some non-treed areas, such as recently harvested areas that will be replanted, are classified as forest. The area of tree cover is routinely mapped using satellite data, but land use is also taken into account when assessing the area of forest.
- National Forest Inventory. Standard reports, Table 4.2. Area (1000 ha) of forest and non-forest land by boreal zone in Canada. (accessed March 29, 2020).
- Baseline estimate of Canada’s boreal zone and boreal forest land.
- National Forestry Database. Forest fires, Table 3.1.2, Area burned by jurisdiction, cause class, response category and protection zone. (accessed April 14, 2020).
- National Forestry Database sources 2019 fire data from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC).
- National Forestry Database. Forest insects, Table 4.1, Area of moderate to severe defoliation (including beetle-killed trees) by insects. (accessed April 14, 2020).
- National Forestry Database. Harvest, Table 5.2, Area harvested by jurisdiction, tenure, management and harvesting method. (accessed April 14, 2020).
- Data include provincial Crown and private forest land subject to even-aged management (clearcutting), uneven-aged management (selection cutting), and commercial thinning harvest methods.
- The National Forestry Database reports the area harvested in Quebec in 2018 as “not available.” However, Natural Resources Canada–Canadian Forest Service has included an estimate of this value in reporting Canada’s total harvested area.
- Natural Resources Canada. Energy Fact Book, 2019–2020. Ottawa, ON. [25.6 Mb PDF]
- Pedlar, J., McKenney, D., et al. 2012. Placing forestry in the assisted migration debate. BioScience 62: 835–842.
- Pulp and Paper Products Council.
- Production figures for newsprint are based on data from the Pulp and Paper Products Council.
- Statistics Canada. Table 36-10-0401-01 (formerly CANSIM 379-0029) Gross domestic product (GDP) at basic prices by industry (x 1,000,000). (accessed March 26, 2020).
- Natural Resources Canada–Canadian Forest Service’s calculations for 2019 nominal GDP are based on Statistics Canada’s tables 36-10-0434-01, 18-10-0032-01 and 18-10-0029-01 (formerly CANSIM 379-0031, 329-0077 and 329-0074, respectively): GDP in 2012 constant prices, and estimated industry price deflators indexed to 2010.
- Statistics Canada. Table 36-10-0489-01 (formerly CANSIM 383-0031): Labour statistics consistent with the System of National Accounts (SNA), by job category and industry. (accessed June 2, 2020).
- Data include NAICS 113, 1153, 321, and 322.
- Employment includes jobs held by people employed directly in the following industries: forestry and logging, support activities for forestry, pulp and paper product manufacturing, and wood product manufacturing.
- Natural Resources Canada–Canadian Forest Service prefers to use employment data from Statistics Canada’s System of National Accounts (SNA) because these data are linked to the underlying framework used to compile the Canadian System of National Accounts.
- Statistics Canada updated the Labour statistics consistent with the System of National Accounts (SNA) in February 2020, which included several changes to the 2018 employment data for NAICS 113, 1153, 321, and 322 that were initially released on May 22nd, 2019. This means that the 2018 SNA data reported here are adjusted from values reported in previous editions of the State of Canada’s Forests: Annual Report.
- Ste-Marie, C. (Compiler). 2014. Adapting Sustainable Forest Management to Climate Change: A Review of Assisted Tree Migration and its Potential Role in Adapting Sustainable Forest Management to Climate Change [14.7 Mb PDF]. Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Council of Forest Ministers.
- Webster, K., Beall, F., et al. 2015. Impacts and prognosis of natural resource development on water and wetlands in Canada’s boreal zone. Environmental Reviews 23(1): 78–131.
- Williamson, T., Johnston, M., et al. 2019. Adapting to climate change in Canadian forest management: Past, present and future. The Forestry Chronicle 95(2): 76–90.
- Forest area with a long-term forest management plan
- Natural Resources Canada–Canadian Forest Service. 2018.
- Provinces and territories supplied the data for the total forest area with a long-term management plan, which were compiled by Natural Resources Canada–Canadian Forest Service. The data were adjusted to align with the total forest area as reported in Canada’s National Forest Inventory and in the sustainability indicator Forest area in The State of Canada’s Forests: Annual Report 2020.
- Natural Resources Canada–Canadian Forest Service. 2018.
- Number of Indigenous people that live in or near forests
- Natural Resources Canada–Canadian Forest Service. Calculations based on Statistics Canada’s 2016 Census of Population and Natural Resources Canada–Canadian Forest Service’s National Forest Inventory’s forested land cover.
- National Forest Inventory.
- Statistics Canada. 2016 Census of Population.
- Spatial (geographic information system) analysis used the two previous sources to calculate the percentage of forest cover by census subdivision (CSD). To be considered forested, a CSD needed to contain >=25% of forested land cover. Populations residing within those forested CSDs are considered living in or near forests.
- This analysis is based on Statistics Canada’s census subdivisions. A subdivision is “the general term for municipalities (as determined by provincial/territorial legislation) or areas treated as municipal equivalents for statistical purposes (e.g. Indian reserves, Indian settlements and unorganized territories).” Since there is no standardized definition of community across provinces and territories, using census subdivisions allows for a consistent approach in reporting over time. In 2016, Canada was divided into 5,161 census subdivisions.
Table of contents — The State of Canada's Forests Report
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