Eastern White Cedar Profile for Southern Ontario
Eastern white cedar grows throughout Ontario and prefers moist soil, but road salt and winter deer browsing are important site limits.
Eastern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis) is a conifer native across Ontario, where government sources describe it from swampy areas as well as rocky uplands. The provincial profile says it grows best in moist soil and tolerates some shade. Forest records also describe winter browsing by white-tailed deer.
Ontario sources describe both settings; habitat association does not establish tolerance for continuous residential ponding.
Site profile
Ontario reports that eastern white cedar can reach about 15 metres tall. It may be planted as a hedge, but the provincial tree profile does not give a landscape hedge width or spacing. It grows in varied soils but does not tolerate road salt. The evidence does not establish how long a residential planting can remain inundated.
The species provides shelter for birds, while deer browse its twigs in winter; these are different wildlife relationships. Confirm local range and nursery origin, allow for mature size, and avoid treating swamp association as proof of permanent-pooling tolerance. For a province-first screen that separates trees from compact shrubs, see native evergreens for wet sites in Canada.