About Us
THE CFO STORY
A United Voice on Federal Policy Issues
Our 450,000 members include small and medium-sized businesses, large companies, pension funds, community forests, family owners, First Nations and many female-led businesses from coast to coast.
Canadian Forest Owners (CFO) is made up of two membership chambers:
- Association Chamber – provincial woodlots associations
- Corporate Chamber – owners with more than 2,000 hectares
CFO represents many of the 450,000 woodlot owners across Canada who own woodlots that average 40 hectares in size. These woodlots add up to about 19 million hectares of private forest land.
In addition, CFO represents larger forest owners who own about 6 million hectares of private industrial forest land, averaging 10,000 hectares in size, and manage an additional 15 million hectares of provincial Crown land.
While these 25 million hectares represents only 10% of Canada’s forest land, CFO members account for 20% of Canada’s forest production.
Most of these forests are located in Canada’s most populated regions and represent a significant part of our settled natural landscape. For example, about one third of Canada’s population lives in southern Ontario where 90% of the forests are privately owned and managed.
Our members are your neighbours, supplying fresh drinking water, important fish, wildlife and plant habitats, forest products and other social and environmental services that support local businesses and help our communities thrive.
Our Purpose
CFO strives to balance the public interest and private property rights within a policy and incentive framework that fosters responsible stewardship.
Providing the essential elements that promote the viability of private forests and encourage sustainable forest management, CFO coordinates landowner interaction with government agencies to ensure that legislation and policy decisions are well informed and consider the potential impacts on privately owned lands.
At any one time there are a variety of active federal and provincial programs and legal and policy initiatives that may affect private forest landowners and related stakeholders. CFO provides a platform for all members to share knowledge on research, environmental policy, stewardship and land value enhancement that improves the health and value of their private forest resources.