Christmas tree sales climb in Nova Scotia while international shipments drop

Tree growers in N.S. report strong domestic sales but exports are down amid tariff threats following a year of drought and disease. Paul Hollingsworth reports.

Christmas trees represent big business in Nova Scotia, generating more than $50 million each year in the province.

For tree sellers, 2025 has been a solid season.

“Last year we sold about 75 and this year we did about 350,” said tree lot owner William Robichaud.

Most Christmas tree lots around the province are sold out, an indication this year has been productive for sellers with business up from last year.

“It is up somewhere up to 10 per cent,” said Christmas Tree Council of Nova Scotia president Mike Harlow. “It’s really encouraging to see.”

While domestic sales are on the rise, exports to the northeastern U.S. have dipped compared to 2024.

“Unfortunately, our shipping market is down about 40 per cent,” said Nova Scotia Christmas tree grower Colin Hughes, who added trade tensions between Canada and the U.S. resulted in a major blow to his bottom line because his usual buyers were fearful of tariffs being implemented on trees.

“There wasn’t a tariff on Christmas trees, it was just the uncertainty and the nervousness within the market, and we’ve taken a huge hit this year,” said Hughes.

A dip in U.S. sales comes several months after enduring a record-breaking drought in the province.

According to Hughes, it takes between 12 to 15 years to grow one Christmas tree, and the dry summer could prove to be devastating to the long-term health of his crop.

“Not only did we lose this year’s seedlings, but we also lost seedlings from two years ago, three years ago, four years ago, and five years ago,” said Hughes.

Pushing aside the bad news, Hughes is staying focused on the upside and is pleased buyers are still choosing his real trees in large numbers, instead of artificial options.

“There’s only one way to get the smell of Christmas, or the scent of Christmas, and that’s with a real tree,” said Hughes.

Going forward, Hughes will attempt to recalibrate his business strategy and expand sales to parts of Asia and Europe, to make up for any drop in sales in the U.S.