The boreal region is one of the three global forest types. Accounting for 33% of the Earth's forests, the boreal covers 11% of its surface. Environmentally, the boreal is very rich. In Canada, the boreal forest region contains vast freshwater resources - including an estimated 1.5 million lakes. Some 20 species of trees are found here - the most common being spruce, fir, tamarack, aspen and birch. It also provides habitat for a wide range of mammals, such as moose, wolves, caribou, bears, rodents, rabbits, lynx and mink. It is home to the largest mammal on the North American continent - the wood bison - and the smallest, the pygmy shrew.

Bird populations are the most dynamic of boreal wildlife. While some species, such as finches, chickadees, crows, owls, ravens and woodpeckers, remain year-round, most migrate. About half of Canada's 450 avian species use the boreal forest, and up to five billion birds fly south and return north each year. The boreal forest and its wetlands are an important breeding and nesting habitat for these birds.

Forests play an important role in the global carbon cycle, exchanging carbon with the atmosphere through photosynthesis and respiration, and storing a large amount of carbon in vegetation and soil. Canada is taking steps to adapt to the impacts of climate change on its forests.

Canada's boreal forest also adds immensely to the economic and social well-being of all Canadians, but especially those who live and work in or near this vast expanse. It is estimated that 2.5 million Canadians reside in 522 boreal-forest-dependent communities across Canada, where at least 20 per cent of a community's economy comes from this resource.

Approximately half of the country's annual cut comes from the boreal. As well, there are other resource activities in the boreal such as oil and gas exploration, mining and hydro electricity generation.

In 2004, the forest industry accounted for $35.9 billion, or three per cent of Canada's gross domestic product. It exported $44.6 billion in wood, pulp and paper products and employed over 900,000 individuals in direct and indirect jobs.

Many Aboriginal peoples in Canada have lived in the boreal region for thousands of years, relying on these woodlands for timber, wildlife, herbs and medicinal plants. Non-timber forest products such as maple syrup, mushrooms, berries and other food found growing in the wild, as well as other products like resins and craftmaking materials, are harvested by the people of the boreal communities and other entrepreneurs. Aboriginal communities are increasingly becoming involved in the forest sector and there has been an emergence of partnership arrangements between Aboriginal peoples and the private sector, as well as with federal, provincial and territorial governments.