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Christmas trees… by the numbers
2009
Here are the facts on Christmas trees in Canada.
(Last updated November 23, 2009.)
Increase in cash receipts for Canadian Christmas tree growers
Cash receipts (current dollars) for freshly cut Christmas trees grew significantly in 2008, returning to the level last witnessed in 2004.
$65.0 million (revised) — The value of farm cash receipts for Christmas trees in Canada in 2008, up from $58.6 million in 2007.
Source: CANSIM, table 002-0001 (Net Farm Income).
Christmas tree exports
1.8 million — The number of Christmas trees exported from Canada in 2008. The United States represented our main export market.
All provinces exported Christmas trees, with the exception of Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
The province of Quebec exported the highest number of Christmas trees to the United States, at 827,863 trees.
$34.2 million — The value of all Christmas trees exported from Canada in 2008. Of that amount, nearly $32 million worth of Christmas trees were exported to the United States.
The United States, Central and South America and the Caribbean islands made up most of the foreign market for Canadian Christmas trees.
Source: International Trade Division.
Artificial Christmas trees
$46.9 million — The value of artificial Christmas trees imported to Canada in 2008. Of that amount, nearly $44.8 million worth of artificial Christmas trees were imported from China.
Source: International Trade Division.
Growing Christmas trees
2,461 — The number of farms that grew Christmas trees in Canada in 2006. The most Christmas tree farms are found in Ontario, with 725 farms.
This agricultural activity is primarily concentrated in Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and in Ontario. British Columbia, too, plays an important role in the fresh cut Christmas tree industry.
Christmas tree farms in the other provinces—namely Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island—account for just over 10% of total Canadian producers.
55 acres — The average area of land per farm allocated to growing Christmas trees in Quebec in 2006. Quebec’s Christmas tree farms are, on average, the largest in Canada for this product.
Farms in Nova Scotia are only marginally smaller, with an average size of 52 acres per farm.
According to the 2006 Census of Agriculture, Christmas tree farms in the other provinces are significantly smaller.
43% — The proportion of Christmas tree farms involved in only one agricultural activity in 2006.
Among all the types of farms studied (as displayed in the next chart), Christmas tree farms exhibited the highest proportion of single-product farming. In comparison, only 7% of raspberry farms were single-product, while 37% of maple-product farmers relied solely on the production of their maple trees.
Among Christmas tree farms involved in more than one activity in 2006, about 15% of them also grew field crops, 15% grew small fruits and another 15% of them raised some type of livestock.
Source: 2006 Census of Agriculture.
The story goes that the Christmas tree was first introduced to Canada long before Confederation, in 1781. This first tree, decorated with a myriad of white candles, was a balsam fir cut from the dense forest in the region of what is now the city of Sorel-Tracy, Quebec.
Today, many species of evergreens are grown in Canada to be sold as Christmas trees. The most popular Christmas trees are balsam fir and Fraser fir. Other species are: Scots pine and white spruce, white pine and blue spruce.
See also: 2006 Census of Agriculture, Farm data and farm operator data, Crops.
For more information on farming and agriculture in Canada, see Statistics by subject, Agriculture.
For information on Christmas and the Holidays, see the 2009 version of “Christmas… by the numbers.”
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