BC plans to transfer over 120,000 hectares of Crown land, including downtown Victoria sites, to First Nations

An internal British Columbia document reveals a proposal to transfer more than 120,000 hectares of Crown land to First Nations, designating the areas as treaty lands that bypass local zoning and building regulations. The plan includes 20 specific parcels, such as the historic Hatley Castle estate and two downtown Victoria parking lots valued at $24.8 million and $22.3 million, which would become fee-simple holdings of the Songhees First Nation.

The biggest allocations are 35,290 hectares for the Kitselas First Nation and 45,789 hectares for the Kitsumkalum First Nation near Terrace, each serving communities of roughly 1,500 members. Critics from the B.C. Conservatives argue the disclosed transfers are only a fraction of a potential 9.6-million-hectare giveaway under Premier David Eby’s agenda. The move follows a recent B.C. Supreme Court decision that gave Aboriginal title priority over private land, prompting the transfer of Richmond property to the Cowichan First Nation. All proposed lands are Crown or government-owned; private property is excluded from the treaty agreements.