How much forest does Canada have?
Forests within Canada and across the globe are different. To make sure forests are measured the same way, Canada uses the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) definition which classifies forests as an area of land not predominantly under agricultural or urban land use spanning more than 0.5 hectares with trees taller than 5 meters, and a tree canopy of more than 10%, or land that has the capability of reaching these criteria in the natural environment.
How much of Canada is covered in forest?
Canada covers 9.98 million square kilometers, making it the second largest country in the world. In 2022, Canada forests made up 3.67 million square kilometers (367 million hectares), or almost 37% of the country’s total land area. These forests account for approximately 9% of the world's forests and 25% of the world’s boreal forest. This is according to the State of Canada’s Forests 2023 report from Natural Resources Canada.
Canada has eight forest regions, which are geographic areas with similar dominant tree species. According to the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers, the Boreal Forest is the largest, accounting for approximately 80% of all forested lands in Canada. It’s a continuous belt stretching from the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador to the Rocky Mountain range in British Columbia. The predominant tree species in the Boreal Forest include white spruce, black spruce, balsam fir, jack pine, white birch, trembling aspen, tamarack, and willow. The second largest forest is the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence, which stretches from southeastern Manitoba to the Gaspé Region in Québec and is a transition forest between boreal forest to its north, and the Deciduous Forest, Canada’s smallest forest region, that is bordered to the south.
How much forest is lost each year to deforestation?
Forests provide many benefits, including habitats for plants and animals, storing carbon, and improving soil, air, and water quality. As such, forest loss is a closely followed metric in Canada and around the globe. Based on data from Natural Resources Canada, since 1990, less than half of 1% of Canada’s forests have been lost due to deforestation — permanently converting forests to non-forest lands — and the rate of deforestation has been declining slightly over the past 30 years. This places Canada among the global leaders in forest management.
The main drivers of deforestation are agriculture, mining, and oil and gas expansion. There have also been annual spikes in deforestation related to the development of hydroelectric reservoirs, which cause forest flooding, most notably in 1993 and 2006. The chart below illustrates annual deforestation in Canada by specific activities. Forestry includes building roads and buildings, and built-up includes converting forests into land for various uses, including buildings, roads, and golf courses.
Natural Resources Canada does not categorize other disturbances that result in temporary forest loss, like harvesting, forest fires, and defoliation from insects and diseases, as deforestation, as the affected areas will grow back. For example, trees cut down for logging are replanted, helping to regenerate the forests, and many trees often grow back following natural disturbances such as forest fires, drought, and flooding.
How do forest fires and insect defoliation impact Canada’s forests?
Wildfires and insect outbreaks are natural occurrences in forest ecosystems. These disturbances are closely monitored and managed to help forests stay healthy. Data from the National Forestry Database shows that in 2023, 17.1 million hectares of forest were lost to forest fires, more than ten times the total area lost to forest fires the year before and the most since 1990. The chart below illustrates the area of forest lost each year to forest fires between 1990 and 2023. Invasive insect species also negatively affect forests by harming native tree species. It’s estimated that in 2022, 13.1 million hectares of forest were affected by insects, down from 15.2 million hectares the year before. Check out this link to learn more about the impact of forest fires, including the frequency and intensity at a national and provincial/territorial level. And if you would like to dig into the data on the impact of insects, click here.
