Where the buffalo roam

Two centuries ago, an estimated 30 to 60 million buffalo roamed the Prairies and woodland. Today, there are approximately 2,200 Plains buffalo and 10,000 wood buffalo roaming free or in protected areas nationally, while Canadian farmers reported 149,539 buffalo roaming on their farms in 2021.

We counted 989 farms that reported raising buffalo during the 2021 Census of Agriculture, with four-fifths of the farms being located in Alberta (472) and Saskatchewan (308). Alberta (65,405 buffalo) and Saskatchewan (52,860) were also home to the largest buffalo herds.

Although the majestic buffalo graces the provincial flag of Manitoba, it had the fewest farms reporting buffalo on the Prairies (82) and the fewest buffalo (11,725) in 2021.

Farm-raised buffalo were reported in six provinces in 2021, including Ontario (2,974) and Quebec (1,682), which are well outside of the traditional buffalo roaming range.

British Columbia reported the third-largest buffalo herd nationally, with 48 farms reporting 14,888 buffalo.

There is a brisk trade of live buffalo between Canada and the United States. In June, 3,660 live buffalo were exported to the United States, fetching $9.9 million.