Even Carney Says They Went Too Far: Richmond Land Title Ruling Shocks Ottawa

When a federal Prime Minister stands up in the House of Commons and says he "fundamentally disagrees" with a BC court decision — and his own government immediately files an appeal — that should tell you something extraordinary happened.

Last summer, the BC Supreme Court granted the Cowichan Tribes Aboriginal title to between 300 and 324 hectares of land in Richmond, BC. Not in a remote corner of the province. Not on unceded wilderness. In Richmond — one of Metro Vancouver's most densely populated cities, home to over 220,000 people, two major industrial zones, and a significant portion of the region's housing stock.

The ruling sent shockwaves through property law circles, local governments, and private landowners across BC. And it put a glaring spotlight on the legal environment the BC NDP has been quietly constructing since 2019.

What the Ruling Actually Means

Aboriginal title is the highest form of Indigenous land rights recognized under Canadian law. Unlike a treaty settlement or a revenue-sharing agreement, Aboriginal title gives a First Nation the right to exclusive use and occupation of the land — including the right to determine how it's used, sold, or developed. Private property on titled land becomes legally complicated, to put it mildly.

The Cowichan ruling covered 300–324 hectares inside city limits in Richmond. If upheld, it would raise immediate questions about property rights, municipal authority, zoning, and who ultimately controls development decisions on that land. The answers would not be reassuring for homeowners or businesses.

Federal Conservatives didn't wait for reassurances — they immediately announced a task force on BC property rights, signalling this has become a national political issue, not just a BC problem.

The NDP Built the Conditions for This

The BC NDP government didn't make the Cowichan ruling happen directly. But they built the legal architecture that makes such rulings increasingly likely — and more consequential.

In 2019, the NDP passed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) — the first law in Canada to formally adopt the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into provincial statute. DRIPA explicitly requires BC to bring provincial laws into alignment with UNDRIP, which includes the principle that Indigenous peoples have rights to lands they have "traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used."

Under DRIPA, the NDP has since signed dozens of consent-based agreements, expanded the role of First Nations in resource decisions, and fundamentally shifted the legal landscape around land and title in BC. Courts don't operate in a vacuum — they operate in the legal environment created by government policy and legislation.

The Cowichan ruling is a direct product of that environment. And the NDP is now scrambling — along with the federal government — to limit the fallout from the very framework they championed.

The NDP's Awkward Position

Here's the bind the BC NDP finds itself in: they have spent years arguing that DRIPA and Indigenous title recognition are matters of justice, reconciliation, and legal obligation. They have made this a centrepiece of their identity as a government.

But when a court takes those principles to their logical conclusion — Aboriginal title in the middle of Metro Vancouver — suddenly even David Eby's government joins an appeal.

You can't spend seven years telling British Columbians that Indigenous title recognition is non-negotiable and then turn around and appeal a ruling that does exactly that. You can't sign agreements giving First Nations "consent" rights over resource development and then act surprised when a court says consent also applies to 324 hectares in Richmond.

What Comes Next

The appeal is working its way through the courts. Legal experts expect the case to eventually reach the Supreme Court of Canada, where it could reshape Aboriginal title law across the country.

In the meantime, BC homeowners, municipal governments, and businesses are left with a deeply uncomfortable question: if this can happen in Richmond, where can't it happen?

The BC NDP has not provided a clear answer. They haven't updated DRIPA. They haven't introduced legislation to clarify the relationship between Aboriginal title and private property. They haven't told homeowners what protections, if any, apply to their land.

Instead, they're appealing a ruling they helped make possible — while continuing to champion the framework that produced it.

The Honest Summary

The Cowichan Richmond ruling is not a glitch. It is the logical outcome of a decade of NDP policy choices that systematically elevated Indigenous title claims while providing no clarity, no limits, and no protections for existing property rights. The federal government — including Carney's own Liberal Party — recognized the danger immediately and acted. The BC NDP moved slower, and less decisively.

British Columbians deserve a government that can square the circle between genuine reconciliation and the protection of property rights that millions of families depend on. What they got instead is a government that built the fire and is now complaining about the smoke.