A groundbreaking court decision in British Columbia that granted Aboriginal title over privately owned land has raised concerns that similar claims could emerge across eastern Canada, potentially affecting millions of hectares of untreatied territory.
The Cowichan Precedent
The British Columbia Supreme Court's recent ruling in favor of the Cowichan Tribes represents a seismic shift in Canadian property law. For the first time, the court explicitly granted Indigenous control over land containing more than 100 private homes in Richmond, B.C., establishing that Aboriginal title takes legal precedence over private property rights.
While the Cowichan Tribes have indicated they don't intend to evict current landowners, the decision fundamentally extinguishes the legal supremacy of private property within the claimed area. This sets a powerful precedent that could be applied to other regions across the country where Indigenous groups never formally surrendered land to the Crown.
Untreatied Territories at Risk
British Columbia Premier David Eby has publicly warned that the Cowichan decision could easily extend to other Canadian cities and regions. The ruling particularly affects what's known as "unceded" territory - lands where Indigenous groups never formally surrendered control through treaties.
This describes substantial portions of Quebec and British Columbia, along with the entirety of Prince Edward Island and significant areas of Newfoundland and Labrador. Additionally, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia operate under 18th-century "peace and friendship" treaties that, unlike later agreements, didn't specifically extinguish Aboriginal title.
As Premier Eby told reporters earlier this month, "there are many examples across the province, and across the country, where Indigenous people were displaced from land illegally, wrongly, unjustly, where there are now fee simple property owners that operate businesses or live in homes."
Emerging Land Claim Disputes
The Cowichan decision has brought renewed attention to several ongoing land claim disputes that could now potentially result in private land transitioning to Indigenous control.
In Metro Vancouver, Port Coquitlam mayor Brad West recently issued a public statement vowing to "vigorously defend" private property rights against an Aboriginal title claim by the Kwikwetlem First Nation. This decade-old claim covers several square kilometers of developed areas in both Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam, communities on the eastern edge of Metro Vancouver.
If successful, the Kwikwetlem would gain control of significant public assets including the 700-acre ƛ̓éxətəm Regional Park, the Colony Farm Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, and Gates Park, one of Port Coquitlam's main public parks.
The situation illustrates the complex balancing act between recognizing historical Indigenous rights and protecting current property owners' interests - a challenge that may soon extend far beyond British Columbia's borders to affect eastern Canadian provinces with similar untreatied land histories.
