Could it be Thuya plicata? your pic is a bit dark, It may be a Laylandii. If it puts on about a foot each spring it's the latter.

I agree with Heron though given how small the container is it could be leylandii and not put on a foot a year.

I dont think its Leylandii.I think Heron might have this right

thanks, i googled that and it looks like it is. is it known as western red cedar?

Does it smell orangey when you rub it it does if its a T plicata.

yes it does, I tried that today.

Dont know if thats good or bad now as they can grow huge! Can be trimmed though. Bluespruce may be able to give you some helpful advise why not PM him? But do let us know?

this one is going to be turned into a bonsai. it will be trunk chopped to about 10 inches and root pruned and put into a bonsai pot over the next 2 years.

Goodness I didnt know you could do that on older trees I hope you let us see it when its done?

I certainly will. this will be the biggest i,ve done but i,ve seen it done on far bigger trees than this.

thanks

Wow like Drc I didn't know you could bonsai a big tree! Wont the trunk look odd?

no, it depends how you shape the canopy. do a google image search for large bonsai. some of them are amazing.
I originaly thought all bonsai trees grew in their pots from small samples but the majority are from larger trees that have been cut down and restyled.