OTTAWA, ON—The Profile of Canada’s private forests and their economic contribution, recently published by Canadian Forest Owners (CFO), reveals that silviculture and wood manufacturing activities from private forests created 37,500 jobs and generated $13.9 billion in revenue coast to coast in 2020.
These jobs are held by forestry professionals and technicians working alongside woodlot owners, silvicultural workers, as well as workers employed in mills to manufacture timber harvested by any of the 450,000 forest owners in Canada. Excluding wood manufacturing, this sector’s activities alone generated a total of $2.3 billion in revenue and over 10,000 jobs.
For Canadian Forest Owners Chair Susannah Banks, this economic study demonstrates the importance of private forests to thousands of families living in rural areas across Canada, underpinning the commitment of private forest owners to long-term, resilient forests and a healthy climate.
“Private forests provide 37,500 Canadians with a good income and jobs in rural areas and make a significant contribution to the economy of our country. This number is even higher if we also include owners who carry out numerous silvicultural activities that were not included in this study,” notes Banks.
Almost half of these jobs depend on activities arising from Quebec’s private forests because of the province’s strong manufacturing sector. In Canada, most of the jobs in wood product manufacturing, forestry and harvesting are in British Columbia and Quebec while jobs in paper manufacturing are clustered in Quebec and Ontario. It follows that Quebec is also the leader in revenue generated from private forest lands contributing $5,322 billion, followed by British Columbia which generated $3,285 billion in 2020.
Sustainable forest management, carried out by small and large Canadian forest owners, ensures the economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being of hundreds of rural communities across Canada.
“Canadian forest owners are responsible for 20 percent of the country’s forest production, yet they own only about a tenth of Canada’s forests. Canadian Forest Owners continue to invite all levels of government to work more closely with forest owners to improve the development of private forests and, by extension, the production conditions for our forest products,” added Domenico Iannidinardo, Vice-Chair, Canadian Forest Owners.
The full report Profile of Canada’s private forests and their economic contribution is available at www.forestowners.ca.
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About Canadian Forest Owners
Canadian Forest Owners (CFO), based in Ottawa, Ontario, represents the unified voice of private forest owners nationwide who are committed to long-term sustainable forest management for a healthy climate and thriving communities. For more information, visit www.forestowners.ca
Media Contact: Sandra Bishop 778.269.3050