Property
Provincial land titles, with Quebec's cadastre and Aboriginal title distinct
Land is provincial jurisdiction. The western provinces and Ontario use a Torrens-style land titles system in which the register is conclusive as to ownership, while parts of the Atlantic provinces retain older registry systems that record deeds without guaranteeing title. Quebec runs a civil-law land register alongside its cadastre. Aboriginal title, recognised at common law and affirmed by section 35, exists independently of any of these registers.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Provincial, except reserve land and federal Crown land, which are federal
- Deadline — Ontario land transfer tax: payable on registration of the transfer
- Deadline — Builders' or construction liens: preserved within 60 days in Ontario
- Deadline — Adverse possession: 10 years in registry-system land, unavailable under land titles
Governing law
- Land Titles Act (Ontario), RSO 1990, c. L.5
- Land Title Act (British Columbia), RSBC 1996, c. 250
- Civil Code of Québec (arts. 2938 to 3075 (publication of rights))
- Indian Act, RSC 1985, c. I-5reserve land
In practice
Reserve land cannot be sold to a non-member and is held by the Crown for the band's use, so financing improvements on reserve requires structures such as designated leases rather than an ordinary mortgage. Tsilhqot'in Nation v British Columbia confirmed that Aboriginal title can be proven over a territory rather than only specific sites, and carries a right to decide how the land is used.