Lesson 3: The Economic Value of Canada's Forests

Canada's forests are an integral part of the economy:

• The forest industry accounted for about $24.6 billion in Canada's economy in 2017.
  
  
• For about 200 communities in Canada, the forest sector makes up at least 50% of the economic base.
  
  
• In 2018, the forest industry provided more than 57,000 direct and indirect jobs in Alberta; in Canada, 209,940 were directly employed in the forest industry.
  
  
• Canada is the world's largest exporter of wood, pulp, newsprint, and softwood lumber. 

The following graph shows the 2013 trade balance for the leading forest product nations.  A positive number indicates that exports are greater than imports, whereas a negative number indicates that imports are greater than exports.

Courtesy of Natural Resources Canada

For more interesting statistics and information, click on the Forest Fact Book to the right.

Tourism also plays a very important role in Canada's economy.

Between 2016 and 2017, people visited Canada's national partks in the boreal forest region approximately 9 million times.