B.C.’s Hatley Castle, parcels of downtown Victoria among lands earmarked for transfer to First Nations

Hatle Castle in Colwood, B.C. Photo by Adobe Stock

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An internal B.C. document has revealed the extent of the province’s plans to cede more than 120,000 hectares of Crown land to First Nations control, including prominent landmarks around the provincial capital of Victoria.

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The total proposed cessions are more than twice the size of the City of Toronto, or 300 times the size of Vancouver’s Stanley Park. What’s more, they would all become “treaty lands”; a special territorial designation that is not subject to local zoning controls.

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In the case of Victoria, this means that some of the most prime development land in the city could become Indigenous-controlled properties exempted from local bylaws, approvals and building codes.

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“Local government bylaws do not apply on treaty lands,” reads a May 2024 consultation paper published by the B.C. government.

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That same document warns that the land transfers may “take some getting used to,” as they cover public lands that could end up sealed off from public access.

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“Once those lands become treaty lands, there may be limited access or even no access for public use,” it reads.

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Proposed Songhees land cessions as part of the Te’mexw Treaty Association negotiations. Photo by Province of British Columbia

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The document itemizes 20 planned land transfers to First Nations as “contingent liabilities and contractural obligations.”

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The proposed cessions are part of modern treaty negotiations that stretch back to the 1990s in some cases, but the Public Accounts show that the lands are now officially on the books as government liabilities.

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One B.C. government outline on modern treaties, published in 2023, explained that one of their primary goals is to “return lands to First Nations.”

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The largest of the itemized cessions is 35,290 hectares earmarked for the Kitselas First Nation and 45,789 hectares for the Kitsumkalum First Nation. Both are located near Terrace, B.C., and comprise a total membership of about 1,500 people.

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In many of the transfers, First Nations stand to receive territory well beyond the size of their existing reserve lands. And, unlike reserve lands, these would effectively be held as fee-simple territories.

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Among the most valuable cessions is the 1,916.7 hectares set aside for the Te’mexw Treaty Association, a coalition of five First Nations on Southern Vancouver Island.

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