Don Pigott

Brad Clements, 82, has been growing Christmas trees near Milton, Ont., since the 1980s but is getting ready to pack it in. Clements and his wife aren’t passing the business on to a family member, and say the property likely won’t continue on as a Christmas tree farm. He’s not alone. One of the factors driving a protracted Christmas tree shortage is the aging population of tree farmers, says Shirley Brennan, executive director of the Canadian Christmas Trees Association. In the last 10 years, Canada lost 1,017 Christmas tree farms and 19,165 acres of Christmas tree farmland, according to Statistics Canada. …According to Statistics Canada, the average Christmas tree farmer is 59. The average person in Canada is 41.7. …Brennan has also taken it upon herself to act as a one-woman PR machine, picking up the phone from anyone who calls interested in getting into the business.