Lumber and wood industry in Canada is one of the biggest exporters of different types of wood products to the global markets.
Today, we have great players in wood industry in the regional and international markets like: Brazil, Russia, and Finland. They are active in wood and lumber production.
But, Canada is the biggest producer and exporter of lumber and wood products in the North America with an annual net worth of billions of dollars.
To supply the demand in regional and global market, lumber and wood industry in Canada converts logs and woods into different products like plywood.
United states and west of Europe are among main buyers and importers of products from wood industry in Canada.
Let’s have a deeper look at the lumber and wood industry in the country:
Popular woods in Canada
Coniferous trees in Canada are among popular woods that supply a large portion of demands in the wood manufacturing section in the market.
It is worth mentioning that by producing nearly two-thirds of the lumber in the country, British Colombia is a key player in the wood industry in Canada.
This means that lumbers (specially plywood) are primarily produced and cut by manufacturers in British Colombia.
Note: We’ll mention that plywood is a type of softwood that is suitable for specific applications.
read more: Different Types Of Wood In India
Hardwoods in Canada
Wood industry can supply hardwoods from deciduous trees.
For example, maple and oak are among popular trees for producing lumber and wood in the industry.
They are mainly in the regions like southern Ontario and Quebec.
Products of wood industry in Canada
The lumber and woods, that are produced from different trees and species in Canada, are used for manufacturing products like:
- Plywood
- Veneer
- Particleboard
- Chip or wafer board
- Oriented strand boards
- Wood composites
- Wood pellets
- Engineered woods
- …
read more: The Most Common Wood In China
These products can be used for different purposes and the value of their export has a great impact on the growth of industry.
Processing in wood production
To make final products, it is important to use mechanical processes like peeling, slicing, sawing, and chipping.
The manufacturing process can have several by-products like: wood chip and shavings.
Keep in mind: Nowadays, an increasing attention is paid to the extraction of fuels and chemicals from woods in this industry.
By now, among all the products we mentioned above, lumber production has the highest volumes in the industry with a significant value.
Let’s introduce several important species in Canada wood industry:
read more: What Wood Is Common In Germany
Maple
You can find different species of maple all around the globe. Specially, in eastern Asia. It is easy to find spruce.
They are shrubs and trees from the genius acer. This genius has nearly 150 species.
In Canada, the best known tree among these species is sugar maple. It grows in northeast of America and east of Canada.
The important note is that national flag of Canada has maple leaf.
So, this tree is a symbolic plant. But, it is not just symbolic. Maple has ecological and economical importance as well.
In Canada, maple tree can grow up to more than 40 meters. But, the shrubs grow to less than 10 meters.
The woods of tree are light in color and have straight grains.
At the stems node, the leaves grow in pairs and in opposite directions.
The leaves are usually single bladed with several pointed lobes.
The fall color of leaves in very beautiful and this is the main reason that they are symbolic.
In the fall, they display brilliant colors ranging from red to orange.
The color is due to the production of special pigments in the leaves. For this reason, they are celebrated species in eastern forests of Canada.
Uses
Maple can be used by manufacturers and native people in Canada for different purposes.
Native people use it for purposes like making basketry, the fish traps, and snowshoes.
In wood industry, manufacturers use maple to produce products like:
- Furniture
- Flooring
- Plywood
- Veneer
- …
It is also used for aesthetic purposes in decoration.
Spruce
As an evergreen conifer, spruce is from genius picea.
It is from pine family that has around 40 species around the world. From them, 5 are native to the Canadian forests.
The majority of this plant are in northern hemisphere.
Spruce is an important tree for wood industry. Because. Manufacturers can use it for producing different products like lumber, paper, pulp, and so on.
The trunk of spruce is long and has a straight shape with a narrow and dense crown on top.
The seeds of plant are between 2 to 10 cm long.
The pollination of this tree happens in spring and the seeds begin to fall in the fall.
Red oak
Oak is a well-known genius of shrubs and trees from the beech family. It has nearly 2 hundred species.
It is easy to find common species of oak in different part of the world. In north America, nearly 80 species of oak exist.
Canada has 10 types of oak that grow locally eastward and in Ontario.
Red oak is a well-known group of oaks. In fact, we have three groups of oaks that are:
- Red or black oaks
- White oaks
- Chestnut oaks
Oak can grow naturally in areas with a moderate precipitation. A well-drain soil is perfect for the growth of plant.
In wood industry, oak is a well-known tree to make hard woods and lumbers.
They are strong and valued for their importance in manufacturing woodworking products.
White cedar
In Canada, cedar in an evergreen conifer. it is called arbor vitae in several sources.
What’s white cedar?
White cedars are a group of them that grow up to 25 meter in height.
Other species of cedar
We have red cedars that may reach to 60 m in height. The diameter of red cedar can become nearly 3 meters.
Also, on the coast of British Colombia, you can find yellow cedars that are species of cypress.
American rush
Rush is a type of wood with a significant importance in the wood industry.
From Asia to the America, manufacturers use rush wood and lumbers to produce different woodworking products.
Softwoods in Canada
main species in softwood industry are:
- Spruce
- Pine
- Douglas fir
- Larch
- Hemlock
- Red cedar
Hardwood in Canada
We introduced maple and oak as two important species in Canada. They are among hardwoods. You can add birch to the list of hardwoods in the wood industry.
Plywood manufacturing
plywood in Canada is mainly produced in the province of British Colombia. It is an engineered product.
In the process of plywood production, wood is reduced to become thin sheets of veneers.
Then, they are glued at the right angle to make stable and strong panels.
Plywood is important for the industry. The quality and grade of products need to be standardized.
Which provinces are active in wood industry in Canada?
As we mentioned earlier, British Colombia has the largest portion of wood and lumber production in the industry.
But, keep in mind that Ontario and Quebec are also among producers of hardwood lumbers in the country.
wood and lumber export from Canada
Domestic market in Canada consumes less than half of lumber produced in the country.
Since 19th century, wholesale buyers and manufacturers of woodworking products in the united states have been among the main importers of wood and lumber products from Canada.
But, the restrictions in the past decades, which imposed by US government, led to a decline in the volume of Canadian export to US in 1980s.
For this reason, wood and lumber industry in Canada tried to expand its market and rely on new buyers in international markets.
Europe, japan, and recently china is among best buyers of wood and lumber from Canada.
Even, India and south Korea are trying to import lumber from Canada.
Final thought
In this article, we discussed about wood industry in Canada and its importance in supplying demand in global markets.
Today, several challenges and opportunities regarding the growth of industry in the country are present at the moment.
So, they can have a great impact on the growth of wood industry in Canada in the next years.
