How the
Crown charge works
Ontario’s Crown timber charge is a regulated administrative charge (stumpage), not a market price. It is assembled from four components and applied province-wide by species and product. Source: Government of Ontario.
Anatomy of the $6.75/m³ SPF sawlog charge
The four regulated components that add up to the total Crown charge for a Spruce/Pine/Fir sawlog, Period 4: 1–31 July 2026. Source: Government of Ontario.
1. Minimum price
Minimum Price — set annually on 1 April by species group and product; adjusted for inflation; guarantees stable Crown revenue regardless of the market ($3.56/m³ for charged conifer and Grade-1 hardwood groups in 2026-27).
2. Residual value price
Residual Value Price — adjusted MONTHLY; rises when forest-product prices are strong and falls when weak, so the Crown shares in market upside.
3. Forest renewal (FRI) charge
The stumpage total (minimum + residual value) is topped up by a forest renewal / Forest Resources Inventory (FRI) charge that funds regeneration and inventory work. For charged conifer and Grade 1 hardwood groups this is $2.50/m³; lower-value products (composite, pulp, poplar) use a reduced FRI charge.
4. Forestry Futures charge
A flat Forestry Futures charge of $0.69/m³ applies across the matrix. It funds silviculture on Crown land where the original licensee cannot, and other approved forestry work.
Measurement — how the volume is counted
Volumes are metered by the Ontario Wood Measurement System as wood enters the mill; the licensee (or the Crown's agent) pays the charge.
Timing
The minimum price is set annually on 1 April (start of the fiscal year); the residual value price is adjusted monthly with product markets. The figures on this site are for Period 4: 1–31 July 2026. A separate $1.00/m³ administration charge applies to timber exported outside Canada for manufacturing.
SPF sawlog Crown charge by fiscal year
SPF sawlog Crown charge, April (Period 1) of each fiscal year, $/m³. Spruce/Jack Pine/Scots Pine/Balsam Fir/Larch, Sawmill column, Period 1 (April) of each fiscal year, extracted from the official stumpage matrix XLSX for each year (same dataset, OGL-Ontario). The 2021-22 and 2022-23 spikes are the lumber-price boom feeding through the monthly Residual Value Price. In early years the Minimum Price could change within the fiscal year; the series shows April values. Source: Ontario open data - Crown timber charges (stumpage matrices 2016-17 to 2026-27).
| Fiscal year | Minimum | Residual (April) | Subtotal Crown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-17 | $1.98 | $0.00 | $4.99 |
| 2017-18 | $2.04 | $0.00 | $5.06 |
| 2018-19 | $2.14 | $1.75 | $6.92 |
| 2019-20 | $2.22 | $0.00 | $5.26 |
| 2020-21 | $2.31 | $0.00 | $5.36 |
| 2021-22 | $2.35 | $24.80 | $30.20 |
| 2022-23 | $2.75 | $29.44 | $35.29 |
| 2023-24 | $3.14 | $0.00 | $6.28 |
| 2024-25 | $3.24 | $0.00 | $6.39 |
| 2025-26 | $3.41 | $0.00 | $6.58 |
| 2026-27 | $3.56 | $0.00 | $6.75 |