Canada’s forest sector is a key economic driver, especially in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities, where it often provides vital employment. While it continues to produce traditional goods like lumber, pulp, and paper, the sector is increasingly diversifying into innovative products to meet evolving global demands. Canada’s forest sector is evolving beyond traditional lumber and paper to become a key player in the emerging bioeconomy.

With growing investments in biofuels, bioplastics, and engineered wood products, the sector is actively seeking clean technologies to support low-carbon production, waste utilization, and process innovation. For cleantech providers, this represents a strategic opportunity to collaborate with an established, resource-rich industry committed to sustainable transformation. The forestry sector in Canada includes forest management, solid wood manufacturing, pulp and paper manufacturing, and logging.

Forestry and Forest Products represent:

• a $33.4 billion contribution to Canada’s GDP, equivalent to 1.2% of Canada’s nominal GDP in 2022.

• A growing sector, with GDP growth of more than 50% over five years.

• The world’s largest producer of newsprint and northern bleached softwood kraft pulp, and the second-largest producer of softwood lumber.

• The world’s largest producer of newsprint and northern bleached softwood kraft pulp, and the second-largest producer of softwood lumber.
  a 9% of the world’s total forested area.

• 7.6 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions from pulp and paper manufacturing