The number of beekeepers in Canada is on the rise, with British Columbia and Ontario leading the way in growth over the past several years, new data from Statistics Canada shows.
The data, released Wednesday, showed the total number of beekeepers in the country had reached 16,360 last year, with more than 5,000 each in both provinces.
Statistics Canada says in 2025 there were 5,356 in B.C., a jump from 4,300 in 2021.
“People want to save the bees lately, which is wonderful,” said Steve Clifford, the president of the B.C. Honey Producers’ Association.
The data doesn’t separate the types of beekeepers in terms of whether they are hobby or commercial beekeepers. The agency also notes that colony numbers may include pollinators that may not extract honey.
But the numbers show colonies of bees in B.C., as in much of Canada, have increased. For B.C., it has risen from 62,181 in 2021 to 88,068 last year.
“We’re not a great honey-producing area, but it’s a good place to have a couple of hives in your backyard,” Clifford said.
Having so many beekeepers is not always beneficial for bees, the executive director of the Canadian Honey Council told Global News.
“It’s nice to see people wanting to get involved in the industry, but it’s also important that they understand how to treat stock and that bees are considered a stock,” said Rod Scarlett.
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He went on to say that while the number of beekeepers keeps growing, some “hobby” keepers may not know best practices, such as treating the bees to ensure they stay healthy.
Part of the problem is a parasitic mite that came to North America as far back as the 1980s called the Varroa destructor mite. It first showed up in the Asian honeybee population and eventually made its way across the ocean.
Scarlett said if bees aren’t treated, it can impact all other colonies nearby because the mite is “easily transferable” from colony to colony.
“If it’s not treated, it results in colony deaths,” he said.
Ontario has also seen a consistent increase in beekeepers, with 5,195 reported last year — an increase from 4,095 just a year prior.
Scarlett said the increase in both Ontario and B.C. is because of the growth in beekeepers in urban regions, such as Toronto or Vancouver. He added many of the beekeepers in the country were “hobbyists” who manage one or two colonies in urban settings.
“[It] is a little bit climate related, both B.C. and southern Ontario particularly are milder in climate, so the capability of being able to look at and after your bees for 12 months in a year is there,” he said.
While Ontario and B.C. are seeing increasing numbers, other areas, including the Prairies, have seen a small decrease or no change, despite Clifford noting the majority of commercial beekeeping takes place in those provinces.
A province like Ontario produced about 7,850,000 pounds of natural honey last year, compared to 14,904,000 pounds in Saskatchewan or 34,216,000 in Alberta.
Alberta saw about 1,630 in both 2024 and 2025, while there was a drop from 1,308 to 1,115 in Saskatchewan between 2024 and 2025.
Scarlett cautioned while it may seem like fewer beekeepers, there are far more colonies being taken care of by even a single person due to the commercial presence in these provinces.
“So, for example, if we have 1,100 beekeepers in Saskatchewan, of which 200 might be commercial, that leaves 800,900 people looking after between one and 10 colonies,” he said. “So one commercial beekeeper could have more bees than everybody else there.”
As more hobby beekeepers enter the field, Clifford told Global News it’s not an “easy thing to pick up” and is encouraging those interested to ensure they’re educated, noting many bee clubs exist to help.
“We try to offer all the training and all the information that we can to these new beekeepers because it’s not automatic,” he said.
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Ontario, B.C. hives of activity as beekeeping popularity blossoms
