While demand for Canadian Christmas trees has been strong in recent years, the situation could change if President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed 25 percent tariff on goods imported into the U.S. is implemented.
Shirley Brennan, executive director of the Canadian Christmas Trees Association (CCTA), stressed the potential impact during a CBC interview, saying, "That 25 per cent tariff would be huge for our industry." A large percentage of Canadian Christmas trees are sent to the U.S., and the CCTA represents the provincial associations across Canada.
Canada has over 20,000 hectares (more than 50,000 acres) of land dedicated to Christmas tree farming. The 2021 Census of Agriculture counted 1,364 Christmas tree farms in the country, with the highest numbers in Ontario, B.C., Quebec, and Nova Scotia.
The census also found that Canada exports over 2.4 million Christmas trees annually, with 97.2 percent going to the U.S. In 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture valued Canadian live tree imports at $68 million.
Though the industry is safe this year, Brennan cautions that the impact of a tariff could be significant in the future. The Canadian Christmas tree industry could face losses, and U.S. retailers, who depend on Canadian trees, may see shortages or higher prices.
"That could impact our growers for sure," Brennan noted. "It could also impact the Christmas tree season in the States. If someone decides not to pay that tariff and not ship to the States, then that is going to impact whether or not they're going to have trees because they rely on Canada for their trees."
To put the industry’s environmental value into perspective, one acre of Christmas trees produces enough oxygen for 18 people.