Canada’s hemp industry is set to have a record production year, but industry experts say that with further relaxation of regulations by Health Canada, the versatile plant’s real potential may just be beginning.
“I’ve been through many ups and downs, but this industry is developing really fast and we are now taking off rapidly,” says Jan Slaski, a leading hemp expert with Alberta Innovates, a government-funded centre where he studies the many uses of hemp.
Slaski projects that more than 130,000 acres of industrial hemp will be grown in Canada in 2017, which is a substantial gain from the 76,000 acres planted in 2016. According to Statistics Canada, hemp exports have grown from $12 million in 2011 to an impressive $135 million in 2016.
And it’s not just the level of production that is increasing. Slaski says since industrial hemp first became legal to grow in Canada in 1998, most of the industry has been geared toward the harvesting of the grain for food consumption. But now, with an increase in fibre-processing plants in Alberta, there can be a wider diversity in the industry, from textiles to industrial building materials to car parts.
“Where hemp is going right now, in particular with the fibre part of the industry, there’s a much bigger societal impact and economical impact where everyone can benefit,” says Slaski, adding that the environmental benefits of replacing oil-based plastics with hemp products could be substantial.
