Can an Aboriginal title claim affect a property I buy in BC?

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The 2025 Cowichan decision declared Aboriginal title over land in Richmond that includes private lots, but held only Canada's and Richmond's titles there invalid; private titles stand, and every party has appealed. Aboriginal title is a First Nation's collective right to land it occupied when European sovereignty was asserted, established by a court's declaration or by agreement. In August 2025 the BC Supreme Court declared it over land in Richmond that includes privately held lots. Below is what the courts and governments have said, as of the date we read them. Look up the address or PID on PlaceDossier to see the record for that lot. What Aboriginal title is: The Supreme Court of Canada says it confers ownership rights similar to fee simple: deciding how the land is used, occupying and possessing it, its economic benefits, and using and managing it. It is collective, held for every generation to come, so it can't be sold or transferred to anyone but the Crown (Tsilhqot'in Nation v. British Columbia, 2014 SCC 44, paras. 73, 74; Delgamuukw v. British Columbia, [1997] 3 SCR 1010, para. 113). How it's established: The group claiming it must prove sufficient and exclusive occupation of the land when European sovereignty was asserted, and continuity where it relies on present occupation (Tsilhqot'in, para. 50; Delgamuukw, para. 143). Until title is declared by a court or recognised by agreement, the Crown must consult a group asserting it about proposed uses of the land and, if appropriate, accommodate it (Tsilhqot'in, paras. 2, 89). That duty falls on governments, not on landowners. The Cowichan decision: On August 7, 2025, the BC Supreme Court declared that the descendants of the Cowichan Nation hold Aboriginal title to part of the Lands of Tl'uqtinus on the south shore of Lulu Island in Richmond, including a strip of the Fraser River's bed, and a right to fish the south arm of the Fraser for food (Cowichan Tribes v. Canada (Attorney General), 2025 BCSC 1490, paras. 1, 5, 3724). The claim covered about 1,846 acres (para. 7); the City of Richmond describes the land declared as about 732 acres. Crown grants issued between 1871 and 1914 cover all of it, and it is now owned by Canada, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, the City and private owners (para. 4). What the court declared about titles: The Crown grants of fee simple in the title lands unjustifiably infringe the Cowichan's title; Canada's and Richmond's fee simple titles in named lots are defective and invalid, a declaration suspended for 18 months from August 7, 2025; and the Province owes the Cowichan a duty to negotiate in good faith the reconciliation of the Crown-granted fee simple interests held by third parties with their title (2025 BCSC 1490, para. 3724; the settled order, 2026 BCSC 1306, para. 3). Private owners' titles there: The private owners weren't parties, and the Cowichan didn't ask for their titles to be declared invalid (2025 BCSC 1490, paras. 43, 44). The court found that Aboriginal title and fee simple titles can coexist on the same land, and that fee simple interests 'will go unaffected in practice' unless or until the title holder successfully takes remedial action, or the matter is resolved by negotiation with the Crown (paras. 2205, 2208). The Land Title Act: A registered title is conclusive evidence of who owns the land, subject to the charges on it and a short list of exceptions (Land Title Act s. 23 (2); see title insurance). The court held that Aboriginal title lies beyond the land title system and the Act doesn't apply to it, so a registered title isn't conclusive against Aboriginal title holders and claimants, while registered interests otherwise remain indefeasible under the Act (2025 BCSC 1490, paras. 2259, 2260). It held that Richmond's titles weren't protected by ss. 23 or 25, as a public body that wasn't a good-faith purchaser for value (para. 3632). That reading of the Act is under appeal. The appeals, on the date we read them: All parties filed notices of appeal to the BC Court of Appeal (2026 BCSC 1213, para. 7; 2026 BCSC 1306, para. 1). On June 29, 2026, the trial judge dismissed a private landowner's application to reopen the trial as an abuse of process, saying it could seek to take part in the appeals instead (2026 BCSC 1213, paras. 98, 101). The courts' judgment search listed no Court of Appeal ruling in the case on 2026-10-23; until there is one, the trial decision stands as written. What governments have said: The Attorney General said on August 11, 2025, that the Province disagrees strongly with the decision, will appeal and seek a stay, and that it 'could have significant unintended consequences for fee simple private property rights'. On March 2, 2026, the Province and the Cowichan Nation's chiefs said they are negotiating, and that neither 'are seeking to invalidate any privately held fee simple titles on the Cowichan Title Lands through the negotiation or appeal processes'. The City of Richmond filed its appeal on September 4, 2025. We found no statement on the decision from the Land Title and Survey Authority. Treaty lands and reserves: A modern treaty, such as the Nisga'a, Tsawwassen, Maa-nulth and Tla'amin agreements, settles a First Nation's Aboriginal rights and title claims in its area and has the force of law (2025 BCSC 1490, para. 19, of the Tsawwassen agreement). Treaty settlement land and reserves are held and governed differently from fee simple land: see reserve land. A claim isn't a charge on title: An asserted claim, a negotiation or a court's declaration of Aboriginal title isn't registered against a lot's title, so a title search won't show one (our reading of the court's finding that Aboriginal title lies outside the land title system). What it means for a buyer: Whether a lot lies in the Cowichan title lands is shown on the court's own map (Schedule A of the decision), and the City of Richmond publishes a draft map of the area. Elsewhere, ask your lawyer whether a court case or agreement touches the land, and ask the title insurer whether its policy covers or excludes Aboriginal title claims (our reading: each policy sets its own exclusions).

Can an Aboriginal title claim affect a property I buy in BC?

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