Moving firewood in Alberta: no federal regulated area, the elm wood rules and the Agricultural Pests Act
What the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Government of Alberta say about moving firewood in Alberta: the province has no federally regulated firewood pests, but provincial law covers elm wood, elm material coming in from infected provinces, storage, disposal and enforcement.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It follows the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) firewood page, modified September 22, 2026, and three Government of Alberta pages on Dutch elm disease, all read October 9, 2026.
The federal side
The CFIA firewood page says the agency sets regulated areas to restrict movement of potentially infested wood and that moving firewood outside a regulated area is prohibited. Under Alberta it says the province is free from federally regulated pests and adds that provincial legislation prohibits the movement of elm wood. The page says firewood moved out of places where a regulated pest has been found can put the mover in breach of the Plant Protection Act, with penalties of up to CA$50,000 and/or prosecution, and that firewood cannot be imported from any country except under strict requirements.
The Alberta responsibilities and authority page adds the federal Dutch elm disease position: under the federal Plant Protection Regulations, elms from an infected province cannot be shipped to a disease-free province, and Alberta and British Columbia are classed as free of the disease. The CFIA directive D-97-07, effective June 16, 2026, calls British Columbia a partially infested province and Alberta a non-infested province.
The provincial law
According to the Alberta Dutch elm disease page, the Agricultural Pests Act and its Pest and Nuisance Control Regulation name both Dutch elm disease fungi and the European and native elm bark beetles that carry them as declared pests. The responsibilities page says all municipalities, counties and municipal districts must prevent and control the disease, and that their pest inspectors can issue notices under section 12 of the Act.
On elm firewood, the prevention and control page calls elm firewood one of the largest spreaders of the beetles, says it is illegal to bring elm material into Alberta from an infected province such as Saskatchewan, and lists measures it says are enforceable under the Act.
| Subject | What the Alberta page says |
|---|---|
| Elm wood storage | Prohibited at any time of year unless the wood has been treated: all bark removed, and the wood kiln dried to a moisture content of 18% or less or heated to 56 degrees C for at least 30 minutes. The page says this follows the Manitoba Dutch elm disease law. |
| Elm wood transport | Elm wood cannot be stored or transported unless it is on the way to the closest elm wood disposal site |
| Disposal | Immediately, by burning or by burying to a minimum depth of 25 cm. Every municipality must designate a disposal site where elm wood may be burned or buried. |
| Chips | Elm with Dutch elm disease cannot be chipped. Elm not infected with the disease can be chipped to pieces of not more than 5 cm. |
| Pruning ban | April 1 to September 30. Pruning can be carried out from October 1 to March 31. An elm tree can be removed at any time of year. |
| Confirmation | The presence of the disease must be confirmed by laboratory test. If a tree is removed before testing is complete, it is treated as infested for disposal. |
Enforcement
The responsibilities page lists the firewood confiscation job under the municipality, municipal district or county, and administration of the Act and Regulation under Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. It says a municipality with no Dutch elm disease bylaw can enforce through the Act, that failing to take active measures or to follow an inspector's notice is an offence, and that notices can be issued by an agricultural fieldman, a community peace officer, a municipal officer with a provincial appointment, or a pest inspector. Under section 20 the Minister may issue a stop order, and a person who does not comply at once is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine of not more than CA$1,000 for each day the offence continues, according to the page. Section 17 lets an inspector enter land, other than a private dwelling house, at a reasonable hour, and take specimens.
The prevention page says that to report suspect infected trees the public calls the Society to Prevent Dutch Elm Disease hotline, 1-877-837-ELMS (3567), and that questions on compliance and enforcement go to the local municipality or agricultural fieldman.
Not published
- A provincial list of firewood sellers or a firewood label rule: no official page found on October 9, 2026.
- Federally regulated pests for firewood in Alberta: none, according to the CFIA page.
For other states and provinces see the table on moving wood and firewood.
Sources
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency, hazards of moving firewood, modified September 22, 2026, read October 9, 2026
- Government of Alberta, Dutch elm disease, read October 9, 2026
- Government of Alberta, Dutch elm disease prevention and control, read October 9, 2026
- Government of Alberta, Dutch elm disease responsibilities and authority, read October 9, 2026
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency, directive D-97-07 Dutch elm disease, effective June 16, 2026, read October 9, 2026