How much forest does Canada have?

With almost 362 million hectares (ha), Canada ranks as the country with the third-largest forest area in the world. Much of this forest grows in the boreal zone. There, over 280 million ha of forest are interspersed with lakes, wetlands and other ecosystem types. According to Canada’s National Deforestation Monitoring System, the forest area of Canada is stable, with less than half of 1% deforested since 1990.

The forest area of Canada contains a mosaic of different forest ages and types. Some are dominated by young trees re-growing after wildfire or harvesting, which presently contain only small amounts of volume but are actively growing. Other forests can contain mainly old trees which are growing slowly or gradually being replaced by younger trees growing up through the forest canopy.

Key sustainability indicators

Explore the report to find information on the key sustainability indicators:

Forest area: Long-term trends in forest area across Canada. A relatively stable forest area is an important indication that forests are being managed sustainably and are, therefore, a stable provider of resources, biodiversity and diverse environmental services.
Deforestation and afforestation: Estimated area of annual deforestation in Canada by industrial sectors. Low deforestation supports high levels of biodiversity and maintains the quality of soil, air and water.
Wood volume: Long-term trends in estimated volume of wood in forests. Wood volume estimates provide information on forest productivity, available carbon storage, forest fire fuel predictions, and harvest level forecasts.

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Forest area

Canada’s estimated forest area, 1990–2021

Graph summary

This graph shows that Canada’s forest area is stable. Between 1990 and 2021, less than half of 1% of Canada’s forest has been deforested.

Graph data

Table showing Canada’s estimated forest area, in millions of hectares, for each year from 1990 to 2021.

Year	Forest area (million hectares)
1990	363,235
1991	363,180
1992	363,126
1993	363,076
1994	362,998
1995	362,959
1996	362,924
1997	362,887
1998	362,850
1999	362,808
2000	362,763
2001	362,724
2002	362,685
2003	362,633
2004	362,584
2005	362,536
2006	362,492
2007	362,416
2008	362,369
2009	362,323
2010	362,281
2011	362,241
2012	362,199
2013	362,156
2014	362,103
2015	362,046
2016	361,990
2017	361,934
2018	361,882
2019	361,832
2020	361,782
2021	361,733

Deforestation and afforestation

Estimated area (hectares) of annual deforestation in Canada, by industrial sector, 1990–2020

Graph summary

The annual estimated area of deforestation in Canada has declined steadily from about 64,000 hectares (ha) in 1990, to about 49,000 ha in 2020. Two spikes in the overall declining trend occurred in 1993 and 2006, when an estimated 86,000 ha and 76,000 ha, respectively, were deforested because of hydroelectric development. Overall, the conversion of forest to agricultural land uses has declined from about 42,000 ha/year in 1990 to about 22,000 ha/year in 2020. The conversion of forest to mining, oil and gas land uses has increased from about 7,300 ha/year in 1990 to 15,000 ha/year in 2020. Forest loss caused by the creation of permanent forestry roads has declined from an estimated 3,700 ha/year in 1990 to 1,100 ha/year in 2020. The conversion of forest to built-up land uses has remained stable, with losses ranging between 7,500 ha/year and 9,600 ha/year between 1990 and 2020.

Graph data

Table showing the estimated area of annual deforestation in Canada, by industrial sector, in hectares per year, from 1990 to 2020.

Year	Agriculture	Forestry	Mining, oil and gas	Built-up land	Hydroelectric	Total
1990	42,107	3,682	7,282	7,472	3,598	64,141
1991	38,142	3,600	7,254	7,298	6,402	62,696
1992	34,177	3,517	7,855	7,199	5,400	58,149
1993	30,217	3,435	7,952	7,126	37,323	86,052
1994	26,252	3,352	8,054	7,057	2,374	47,089
1995	22,289	3,270	8,163	7,028	1,493	42,243
1996	21,941	3,334	8,806	7,518	1,695	43,294
1997	21,597	3,398	9,146	7,513	2,014	43,668
1998	21,249	3,463	10,584	7,743	4,597	47,635
1999	20,893	3,527	11,175	8,354	6,646	50,596
2000	20,544	3,591	10,961	8,804	883	44,783
2001	20,196	3,655	10,740	9,104	882	44,578
2002	19,849	3,720	13,390	8,639	9,746	55,343
2003	19,502	3,784	13,577	8,951	3,061	48,874
2004	19,154	3,848	14,060	9,396	4,073	50,532
2005	17,982	3,452	14,758	8,946	4,035	49,174
2006	16,842	3,058	17,394	9,022	29,479	75,795
2007	15,703	2,666	17,482	8,657	3,719	48,226
2008	14,563	2,272	16,528	8,271	6,810	48,444
2009	13,422	1,879	14,037	8,313	5,072	42,723
2010	12,283	1,485	14,397	8,029	5,112	41,307
2011	14,303	1,407	15,953	8,229	2,920	42,811
2012	16,320	1,328	14,919	8,446	3,343	44,357
2013	18,341	1,250	15,535	9,130	10,123	54,379
2014	20,360	1,171	15,022	9,543	11,946	58,041
2015	22,378	1,092	15,319	10,089	8,245	57,124
2016	22,378	1,092	15,618	10,036	8,052	57,177
2017	22,378	1,092	15,459	9,820	3,739	52,489
2018	22,378	1,092	15,437	9,682	1,409	49,997
2019	22,378	1,092	15,157	9,662	1,295	49,584
2020	22,378	1,092	15,144	9,637	1,101	49,352

Wood volume

Estimated wood volume (million cubic metres) in Canada

Year	1990	1995	2000	2005	2010	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Wood volume	53,305	53,280	52,842	51,167	50,608	50,147	50,096	49,900	49,598	49,513	49,562

Sources and information

See Sources and information in the downloadable report for detailed sources.

Date modified:: 2023-02-02

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