TO improve air quality and public health, Metro Vancouver residents who intend to use wood-burning stoves, fireplaces, or appliances after September 15 must provide a declaration to follow best burning practices and, if they’re located in an urban area, must also register their appliances before burning this fall and winter.
By ensuring best burning practices are followed — which includes only using clean, untreated wood, maintaining the appliance properly, and preventing smouldering fires — Metro Vancouver is working to improve air quality year round across the region.
Residents can make their declaration, confirm if they are within the urban area, and register their eligible wood burning appliances online at metrovancouver.org or via a mail-in form.
Examples of eligible wood-burning appliances include:
- Appliances that are certified under Canadian or US emissions standards
- Appliances that are operated exclusively with manufactured fire logs
- Appliances that are the sole source of home heating
Residents can exchange their old stoves through Metro Vancouver’s Wood Stove Exchange Program, which offers incentives of up to $750 to replace old wood-burning appliances with cleaner burning models or electric heat pumps.
Metro Vancouver is responsible for bylaw enforcement and is initially focusing on education about the new rules and how to comply.
Metro Vancouver’s Residential Indoor Wood Burning Emission Regulation Bylaw, adopted in March 2020, sets out a phased approach for reducing fine particulate emissions from residential wood smoke, with a focus on more densely populated areas where such emissions pose the greatest health risk. A seasonal prohibition on the use of wood stoves and fireplaces from May 15 to September 15 was introduced in 2021 to protect the public from the effects of wood smoke during the warmer months of the year, when indoor heating is less of a concern and wildfire smoke is more prevalent.
Under the phased bylaw implementation, the use of unregistered wood-burning appliances will be prohibited in urban areas in 2025, with some exemptions. The bylaw includes special considerations for rural and off-grid residents, as well as for low-income households, for homes where wood is the primary source of heat, and during emergencies.
Residential wood burning contributes more than a quarter of fine particulate matter emissions across the region. When breathed in, these tiny particles penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream and can be harmful to health, particularly for infants, the elderly, and people with diabetes, lung disease, or heart disease.
Metro Vancouver operates an extensive air quality monitoring network with 31 permanent stations and one mobile unit. The regional district sets air quality objectives, responds to air quality complaints, and enforces bylaws pertaining to air emissions from industry, businesses, and residences.
For more info:
Residential Wood Burning Bylaw information & registration
