Moving firewood in Nova Scotia: the brown spruce longhorn beetle order, the emerald ash borer counties and the hemlock woolly adelgid area

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It follows the CFIA firewood page and pest directives, the CFIA order for the brown spruce longhorn beetle, and the Government of Nova Scotia's Don't Move Firewood and hemlock woolly adelgid pages, all read October 9, 2026.

Who sets the rules

The Nova Scotia Don't Move Firewood page says the CFIA regulates the movement of firewood from pest-regulated areas throughout Canada, and that moving firewood from regulated places can violate the Plant Protection Act. It adds that in some provinces ministerial orders may restrict or prohibit firewood movement from regulated areas. The CFIA firewood page, modified September 22, 2026, lists six regulated pests for Nova Scotia: brown spruce longhorn beetle, Dutch elm disease, emerald ash borer, European larch canker, hemlock woolly adelgid and spongy moth. It gives penalties of up to CA$50,000 and/or prosecution for moving firewood from places where regulated pests have been found.

The same CFIA page lists three cases where moving firewood is allowed: inside a regulated area, inside non-regulated areas without passing through a regulated area, and out of a regulated area with a CFIA movement certificate for heat treated firewood or under a compliance agreement.

Pest by pest

Pest	Where in Nova Scotia	What the CFIA says about firewood
Brown spruce longhorn beetle	The CFIA beetle page says the regulated area includes the entire province	The Infested Place Order names firewood of all species and spruce logs as regulated articles
Emerald ash borer	Halifax County, and part of Hants County	Moving ash firewood out of a regulated area is prohibited, for commercial or private purposes
Hemlock woolly adelgid	Digby, Queens, Shelburne, Yarmouth, Annapolis, Kings and Lunenburg counties	Firewood of all species is prohibited from moving unless approved under a CFIA movement certificate
European larch canker	The province except Cape Breton Island	The directive regulates larch logs and other material with bark
Dutch elm disease	Generally infested province	No federal requirement between generally infested provinces, with provincial law also applying

The brown spruce longhorn beetle order

The CFIA Infested Place Order for Nova Scotia, made by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food on April 2, 2015 under subsection 15(3) of the Plant Protection Act, defines a regulated article as firewood of all species, as well as spruce logs. Section 2 says nobody except an inspector may move a regulated article out of the infested place without written authorization from an inspector, and that regulated articles may only pass through the area without undue delay in transit.

Section 3 lists what needs no authorization: dimensional sawn lumber or wood packaging and dunnage heat treated to a minimum core temperature of 56 degrees C for 30 minutes and carrying a recognized stamp, lumber from facilities registered by a grading agency, and spruce stems or branches of 10 centimetres (4 inches) in diameter or less. Section 4 exempts regulated articles being exported through a port in the infested place. The CFIA beetle page, modified February 21, 2025, says the movement of spruce logs and firewood out of the regulated area is restricted and that the area includes the entire province.

Emerald ash borer

The CFIA emerald ash borer regulated areas page, modified August 12, 2026, lists Halifax County and part of Hants County: West Hants south of the River St. Croix up to the road 215 bridge and then south of highway 14, and East Hants south of highway 14. It says non-ash firewood can only leave a regulated area through facilities registered under the Emerald Ash Borer Approved Facility Compliance Program. Its list of regulatory activity for the province includes these entries from 2024 on:

September 20, 2024: detection and prohibition of movement in Hants County.
October 1, 2025: detection and prohibition of movement in Cumberland County.
April 30, 2026: expansion of the regulated area to part of Hants County.
June 29, 2026: detection and prohibition of movement in Kings County.
July 31, 2026: detection and prohibition of movement in Colchester County.

The page explains that a detection triggers a prohibition of movement from a zone the CFIA sets around the affected location, with the property owner and municipality notified. The province's one-page emerald ash borer leaflet dates the first detection in Nova Scotia to 2018 and names movement of firewood, nursery stock and wood products as what hastens a spread that is slow by natural means.

Hemlock woolly adelgid

The CFIA hemlock woolly adelgid page, modified August 26, 2025, lists seven Nova Scotia counties as regulated. Directive D-07-05, sixth revision of August 8, 2025, says movement of firewood of all species from a regulated area is prohibited unless the CFIA approves it under a movement certificate that sets the conditions. The province's hemlock woolly adelgid page says the insect was first detected in the province in 2017 in Yarmouth County, that 95% of trees in an infested hemlock stand can die within 4 to 15 years, and that avoiding any movement of live hemlock or hemlock forest products, firewood included, helps prevent its spread.

Kiln drying and heat treatment

The Nova Scotia firewood page separates the two. It says kiln drying removes moisture but does not sterilize the wood, so woodborers such as the emerald ash borer can survive in kiln dried firewood, while heat treatment brings the internal temperature to a set level for a set time to kill all life stages of pests. The CFIA firewood directive D-01-12 sets the heat treatment standard for imported firewood at a minimum of 56 degrees C throughout the wood, core included, for at least 30 minutes.

Not published

A Nova Scotia provincial penalty for moving firewood: not published on the pages read.
The full movement certificate conditions for hemlock woolly adelgid firewood: set by the CFIA case by case.

For other states and provinces see the table on moving wood and firewood.