Canada's top court declines appeal on Aboriginal land title

The Supreme Court of Canada has declined to hear an appeal of a New Brunswick ruling that found Aboriginal title cannot be declared over privately owned lands, a decision that is expected to influence a separate, high-profile land title case in British Columbia. The court's refusal to grant leave to appeal effectively allows the New Brunswick Court of Appeal's December 2025 decision to stand.

That ruling involved the Wolastoqey First Nation's claim, which sought a declaration of Aboriginal title over Crown lands and certain privately held forestry and railway lands. In his decision, then-Chief Justice Ernest Drapeau wrote that granting title over private property would fundamentally undermine reconciliation with non-Indigenous Canadians. The Wolastoqey Nation can still seek compensation from the Crown.

British Columbia's Attorney General, Niki Sharma, said the Supreme Court's action provides a clear path for the province's appeal in the Cowichan Tribes case. Last August, the B.C. Supreme Court ruled that the Cowichan Tribes hold Aboriginal title to a portion of land in Richmond and that this title represents a "senior interest" compared to standard fee-simple ownership. The...