Canada: Hemp Industry-In-Progress

After several years of field research and lobbying, Canada developed regulations for the cultivation and processing of industrial hemp in 1998.

The government's move to join the world hemp community was prompted by lobbying on the part of the agricultural and business community, pressure from within caucus and a wave of hemp populism from across the country.

The 1998 hemp decision was seen as a political dream: "win win" for everyone. There was very little opposition to the idea of industrial hemp: the biggest obstacle was government foot-dragging on the issue.

Alan Rock, Health Minister at the time (and minister in charge of the hemp office) said, "This new crop has a tremendous potential for creating new jobs in agriculture, industry, research and retail."

Great expectations were raised then. However, many cautioned that it would take many years for the crop to be established.

Now five years in, many these expectations have not been met and the cautious have been vindicated. The growth of the hemp sector has been modest and hemp has proven not to be immune to the struggles typical of any new industry.

Last year (2002), comparatively very little industrial hemp was grown across the country. According to Health Canada, Canadas licensing body for hemp (Canada has a licensing regime similar to the European Union), 1530 hectares were licensed. In the modern history of hemp cultivation in Canada, this represented a small increase from 2001, which had the smallest crop on record, 1300 h.

(Planting for previous years: 1998: 2200 h, 1999: 13, 000 h., 2000: 5,500 h.).

The outlook for 2003 is much better. Last year's drought has led to very little inventory this winter. Growing markets will also help drive production. Most production will be concentrated in the Canadian west, notably Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

At this point, most hemp production in Canada is for hemp grain. Fiber production is limited and has been concentrated in Ontario where there are two processing plants: Kenex of Chatham and Hempline of Delaware. Both companies process the valuable long fibers for advanced new uses, such as automotive composites and building materials. High quality stable bedding is a by product.

Out west, the Prairie provinces have concentrated on hemp grain production and processing. This is instep with the regions history with other oilseeds. A lack of hemp fiber processing capabilities in the west has thwarted other kinds of development.

Fiber processing in Canada faces many challenges including technology shortcomings, insufficient financing and unfamiliarity with markets.

The fiber situation is slowly improving. An Ontario company, Wellington Polymer, has also been using hemp fibers as a component in making eco-friendly roofing shingles. In Manitoba, Erosioncontrolblankets.com has started manufacturing and marketing Rolled Erosion Control Products (RECPs) made from straw, coir and locally grown industrial hemp. The company needs a steady supply of machined-shortened hemp fibers to engage in this kind of production on a regular basis.

Also in Manitoba, the Dauphin-based Parkland Industrial Hemp Growers Co-op have plans for a $15 million CDN fiber processing facility. The 200 member strong co-operative, with members drawn across the Prairies, have been working on this development since the spring of 2000. Their proposed facility tooled with technology developed by the Biocomposite Centre at the University of Bangor, Wales - -- will process hemp fibers for the horticulture matting, insulation, and the paper/cardboard recycling industry. With technology available and purchase orders in hand, the co-op hopes to be able to complete financing and start construction this year.

The Dauphin initiative holds extra significance because it involves the core of farmers who were once contracted by the American-based Consolidated Growers and Processors (CGP). During their short corporate existence, CGP was widely criticized for growing significant acreages of hemp without evidence of markets: the companys bankruptcy in 2000 was a blow against establishing hemps credibility as a new crop.