We have digitized the historical pesticide applications to the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia for the years 1968 to 2017. During the years covered in the dataset, 88% of forested land (4 567 148 hectares) on the island of Newfoundland, 0.6% of forested (112 896 hectares) in Labrador, and 14% of forested land (598 142 hectares) in Nova Scotia received at least one application of an insecticide. During the years included in the dataset 7 pesticides, including aminocarb and fenitrothion, were applied. The manuscript details a general history of the historical spray program and describes the dataset which includes pesticide active ingredient, application rate, spatial location of spray blocks, and other ancillary information. Such data may be used for comparing decision making among jurisdictions that undertook large and small aerial application programs, studies of efficacy of different insect control strategies, long-term, non-target ecological effects, and serve as a historical record of past pesticide applications to forested areas.