In Canada flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) is grown primarily for its oilseed, and the straw is a waste product. The traditional use of flax fibre in the linen industry requires long fibres, which necessitates a different physiology from that needed to produce a high oilseed yield. Recently, however, new markets have become available for flax fibre, which are less stringent in the type of fibre that can be utilized. These markets allow for the production of a crop with the main emphasis on oilseed production, but with a secondary purpose of fibre production. In order to be feasible on a large scale, however, it is necessary for these new flax types to have a consistent concentration of fibre in the plant in order to make it worthwhile for the end-user. For the breeder to produce value-added flax cultivars, more information is required on the heritability of fibre in flax, and on the effect of selection for both oilseed and fibre traits. For these reasons, this study was initiated, with F₂ populations of 43 crosses planted in one location in 2005, a two-location F_2:3 lines of six selected crosses planted in 2006, and an F_2:4 crop planted in three locations in 2007. This study was also made possible with the development of an NIR analysis for the fibre content of flax straw samples. Preliminary results indicate that year and location have an effect on fibre content, as is known from previous studies. There may also be a slight negative correlation between fibre content and seed yield. However, the final year results are required to determine the ideal selection strategy to produce an oilseed flax cultivar with stable fibre content. Most interesting is that it may be possible to predict from the F₂ populations, which crosses will have higher fibre content.