Source: Canadian National Forestry Database and Statistics Canada

In 1970 the volume of softwoods harvested in Canada exceeded the hardwood harvest by over tenfold. Since then, the softwood harvest has increased 40 percent while the hardwood harvest has increased 228 percent (Figure 87). Today, the Canadian softwood harvest is 4.3 times the hardwood harvest. Although relatively large volumes of hardwoods are harvested annually in Canada, very little is processed into lumber. For example, total hardwood lumber production has varied between only 0.4 to 0.5 billion board feet in recent years, and has never exceeded 0.6 billion (Table 17); this is roughly equivalent to a roundwood volume of only 65 to 100 million cubic feet, or 5 to 8 percent of the annual hardwood harvest in Canada. The vast majority of the hardwood harvest is used in the manufacture of OSB and paper. Much of the hardwood lumber produced is exported to the United States. Of the approximately 500 million board feet of hardwood lumber produced in Canada in 1999, an estimated 300.2 million were exported to the U.S. (Statistics Canada 2003).

 

Figure 87
Canadian Hardwood Roundwood Harvest
1970-2002

Source: Canadian National Forestry Database and Statistics Canada

Table 17
Hardwood Lumber Production in Canada, 1965-1999

(Billion board feet - International 1/4")

 

Source: Statistics Canada 2003

Canadian Provincial Data

Hardwood forest statistics for the individual provinces are presented in Appendix B. Data was obtained from the most recent national reports of the status of Canada's forests, published by Natural Resources Canada.