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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, LA PRESS ARCHIVE
The 2023 season looks good for exported trees from Quebec.
Number of Quebec Christmas trees exported abroad in 2022. This represents 63% of Canadian exports. The value of trees exported from Quebec is $66 million. And the 2023 season is looking good, says Hugo Cleary, administrator of the Association of Christmas Tree Producers of Quebec (APANQ). “Our producers say that demand is very high,” says the latter. People are realizing the benefits of natural trees. »
Natural or artificial?
PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
The natural tree has a lower carbon footprint than the artificial tree.
In fact, every season brings back the eternal debate: Natural or artificial, the tree? The David Suzuki Foundation recommends natural fir. Because the artificial tree has a higher CO2 footprint due to its plastic components. In addition, it is often manufactured abroad and transportation causes a lot of gas emissions. To achieve an acceptable carbon footprint, it must be stored for around twenty years. While natural fir captures its share of carbon.
From Massachusetts to Venezuela
PHOTO ANGELA WEISS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A Christmas tree in front of the New York Stock Exchange building
Where do exported trees from Quebec go? 97% of the time they are found in our southern neighbors, primarily New York State, Massachusetts and New Jersey. Other trees end up in homes in Central America (Panama), South America (Venezuela) and the Antilles (Barbados, Aruba, Curaçao).
First Estrie
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, LA PRESS ARCHIVE
Estrie has the most Christmas tree producers.
There are Christmas tree producers in more than 10 regions of Quebec. Estrie has the most operators. In 2022, 133 producers from the Eastern Townships managed 6,210 hectares of trees, followed by 45 colleagues from Chaudière-Appalaches (2,291 hectares). A total of 272 producers cultivate fir trees on 9,437 hectares. The most popular are Balsam and Fraser species.
14 or 15 years old
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
The fir trees are harvested between the end of October or November 20th and 25th.
“This is the age when Christmas trees are coming to market,” said Hugo Cleary, whose company Cleary Evergreens is based in Cookshire-Eaton. “I buy transplants that are 18 inches tall and 4 or 5 years old,” he says. Once planted, they need to be pruned, fertilized, etc. every year. The harvest takes place between the end of October and November 20th and 25th. » So that the trees are ready for sale on December 1st.
Almost 200 tons
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
Thousands of trees are collected in Montreal every year.
Once the holiday season is over, recycle your tree. In Montreal, thousands of trees are collected every year, says spokesman Philippe Sabourin. “In 2022, almost 200 tons of trees will be collected, equivalent to 12 STM buses,” he says. A few hundred trees decorate public ice rinks. The majority is chopped into chips and used as fuel or sent to the essential oil company Arbressence. Collection ? It takes place in January. Montrealers must consult the website montreal.ca, click on the “Info-Collecte” tab and enter their zip code to find out collection dates by county. You can also take them to eco centers.
Sources: Quebec Christmas Tree Producers Association, Quebec Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Global Trade Tracker, City of Montreal