The mission of the Canadian Forest Service of Natural Resources Canada is to promote the sustainable development of Canada's forests and the competitiveness of the Canadian forest sector for the well-being of present and future generations of Canadians.

The Economics and Statistical Services Division is responsible for the collection of forest statistics. The National Forestry Database (NFD) is the central database used to compile the national forestry statistics. It records the level of forestry activity in any period as well as changes in the forest and in forest management activities.

Forestry statistics Web sites that may be of interest:

• National Forestry Database Program, Canadian Council of Forest Ministers
• Canada's National Forest Inventory
• The State of Canada's Forests: 2004-2005
• Selected Forestry Statistics Canada

Below you will find the Canadian Forest Service's section of the statistical fact sheet for the year 2004 prepared with information available to October 2005.

Important Facts on Forestry

• Canada has 10% of the world's forests.
  
  
• Canada has 402.1 million hectares (ha) of forest and other wooded lands, which represents 41.1% of its total surface area of 979.1 million hectares.
  
  
• Canada's forest and other wooded lands are made up of 310.1 million ha (77%) of forest and 92 million ha (23%) of other wooded land; 294.8 million ha of the forest (95.1%) are potentially available for commercial forest activities.
  
  
• In 2003, Canada harvested 180.5 million cubic metres of roundwood.
  
  
• Annually, Canada harvests 0.3% of its commercial forest area (1 million ha were harvested in 2002).
  
  
• A total of 19.2 million ha were affected by insect defoliation in 2003; 3.3 million ha were lost due to forest fires in 2004.
  
  
• In 2003, an estimated 378 746 ha were planted with 509 million seedlings, and 17 651 ha were seeded.
  
  
• Revenues from the sale of timber from provincial Crown lands are estimated to be $1.4 billion in 2003.
  
  

National Economic Importance

• The forest sector's contribution to the Canadian economy (GDP) was 3.1%, or $36.8 billion, in 2004.
  
  
• Direct employment was 361 100 in 2004, or 2.3% of total employment in Canada: wood industries, 185 800; paper and allied industries, 103 800; logging, 50 200; and forestry services, 21 300. Employment is spread all across Canada but is primarily in Quebec (115 300), British Columbia (79 800) and Ontario (94 300).
  
  
• Canada's forests are the engine behind an industry worth about $80.3 billion.
  
  
• In 2004, shipments of pulp and paper reached a level of 31.2 million tonnes, an increase of 1.7% from the previous year.
  
  
• Production of softwood lumber was 82.7 million m³ in 2004.
  
  
• New capital investments totalled $3.1 billion in 2004: paper and allied industries, $1.5 billion (49.9%); wood industries, $1.2 billion (38.2%); and logging, $0.4 billion (11.8%).
  
  
• Tourism related to Canadian forests also provides a boost to Canada's economy.
  
  

International Importance

• In 2004, Canada was the world's largest forest-product exporter (17.3%).
  
  
• Forest products were a major contributor to Canada's surplus balance of trade in 2004 ($34.4 billion).
  
  
• The total value of Canadian forest-product exports increased by 12.6% in 2004 to $44.6 billion. British Columbia accounted for $14.7 billion (33.0%); Quebec, $11.9 billion (26.7%); Ontario, $9.0 billion (20.1%); and other provinces, $9.0 billion (20.2%).

Forest and Other Wooded Land

% Forest and Other Wooded Land Total Land Area (Millions of ha) Forest and Other Wooded Land Area (Millions of ha) 0-<5 5-<20 20-<40 40-<60 60-<80 80-100 363.1   70.9 74.0 83.0 121.8  266.3 1.2 8.3 22.3  41.3  86.9  241.7     Total 979.1 402.1