The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is committed to protecting Canada's plant resource base from invasive pests that threaten our forests and forestry industry. Accordingly, the CFIA has put in place measures intended to protect Canada's economy by slowing the spread of emerald ash borer (EAB) to non-infested areas of Canada.
Following detections outside of regulated areas, the CFIA has updated its regulated areas for EAB to include three areas in Quebec (one municipal territory and two Regional County Municipalities) and part of one county in Nova Scotia.
Preventing and slowing the spread of invasive species, such as EAB, is critical to safeguarding forests, native plants and forestry-related industries.
The regulated area now includes the Regional County Municipalities of Bonaventure, Charlevoix-Est and the City of La Tuque, in Quebec, and part of Hants County, Nova Scotia. As a result, ash material (such as logs, branches and woodchips) and all species of firewood cannot be moved outside the regulated area without permission from the CFIA. If you need to move ash material or firewood, please contact your local CFIA office to request written authorization.
Although the EAB poses no threat to human health, it is highly destructive to ash trees. It has already killed millions of ash trees in Canada and the United States, and it poses a major economic and environmental threat to urban and forested areas of North America.
The CFIA will continue to survey and monitor the spread of this pest through its annual surveillance program and, following a public consultation in the fall of 2025 on the re-evaluation of its EAB management strategy, anticipates finalizing its decision in 2026.
If you spot EAB outside regulated areas, report it to the CFIA to help stop the spread.
