Research centres
The Canadian Forest Service conducts regional and national forest research activities in different locations across the country in state-of-the-art facilities.
The Atlantic Forestry Centre (AFC) is Atlantic Canada’s centre of excellence in forest research, with a 100-year history of forest science in the region. Co-located in Fredericton, New Brunswick, and Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador, the AFC plays a vital role in national forestry research. The centre is home to a renowned insect chemical ecology lab that provides advanced detection and management tools for insects affecting Canada’s forests. The AFC is also responsible for the management of the Acadia and Petawawa Research Forests. The National Tree Seed Centre, a valuable genetic bank for scientific research and conservation, is also located here.
The Canadian Wood Fibre Centre (CWFC) was created in 2006 as the fourth division of FPInnovations, and is made up of employees from each regional office of the Canadian Forest Service. The CWFC brings together forest sector researchers to develop solutions for the Canadian forest sector’s wood fibre–related industries in an environmentally responsible manner. The CWFC aims to create innovative knowledge that will provide the forest sector with new economic opportunities and benefits from wood fibre.
The Great Lakes Forestry Centre (GLFC) has been a landmark in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, for more than 50 years. The centre is home to Canada’s Insect Production and Quarantine Laboratories, a one-of-a-kind research facility that employs clean-room technology and allows scientists to study alien invasive insects. The GLFC has a worldwide reputation for scientific excellence and is a world leader in forest research.
Located in Québec City, Quebec, the Laurentian Forestry Centre (LFC) is involved in the acquisition and dissemination of forest knowledge. Staff use state-of the art infrastructure, including molecular biology, remote sensing, geomatics and modelling labs, to conduct research in areas such as climate change, forest ecology, forest pest biology, ecogenomics and forest ecosystem dynamics and productivity. To support this research, the LFC also has a collection of insects and fungi, an experimental station in Valcartier, an arboretum, greenhouses, and several experimental plots across Quebec.
National Capital Region
The National Capital Region (NCR) is located in Ottawa, Ontario. The NCR leads the analysis, development and implementation of strategic policies, initiatives and programs that support the socio-economic, innovation and environmental priorities of the federal government.
Building on its strengths in both the social and biophysical sciences, the Northern Forestry Centre (NoFC) leads and contributes to integrated, interdisciplinary research on nationally significant sustainable forest management issues. The NoFC is located in Edmonton, Alberta. Staff collaborate closely with other federal departments, provincial and territorial governments, industry and universities in the three prairie provinces and Northwest Territories to address key questions associated with climate change (both forest carbon and impacts and adaptation), wildland fire and ecosystem processes.
The Pacific Forestry Centre (PFC), located in Victoria, British Columbia, works with forest sector stakeholders and provincial and territorial colleagues in British Columbia and the Yukon to undertake the science behind challenging forest issues. The PFC is home to an internationally recognized collection of forest fungi and tree diseases and the largest collection of forest insects in Western Canada, and is the headquarters of the Canada’s National Forest Carbon Monitoring, Accounting and Reporting System and the National Forest Inventory. PFC research activities include forest pests, remote sensing, bio-energy, wildfire and forest sector competitiveness and the economics of international trade.