{"id":101138,"date":"2026-03-03T03:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T08:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/?p=101138"},"modified":"2026-03-02T16:12:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T21:12:23","slug":"new-name-for-vancouver-incoming-in-3-2-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/2026\/03\/03\/new-name-for-vancouver-incoming-in-3-2-1\/","title":{"rendered":"New name for Vancouver incoming in 3 … 2 … 1…"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Canadian federal government is not eager to share the details of a new agreement they’ve signed with the Musqueam First Nation that apparently cedes most of the city of Vancouver<\/a> to the band, casting the property rights of two million people into legal limbo:<\/p>\n

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The Liberal government is refusing to publicly release an agreement with the Musqueam Indian Band that recognizes Aboriginal title over a vast area of British Columbia, including Metro Vancouver and surrounding areas, potentially affecting nearly two million people.<\/p>\n

Buried in a seemingly mundane fisheries announcement put out on February 20th, the acknowledgement could radically undermine property rights in one of Canada’s largest and most populated metropolitan regions.<\/p>\n

On February 20, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada issued a news release<\/a> with little fanfare titled “Musqueam and Canada Sign Historic Agreements Recognizing Rights, Stewardship and Fisheries”.<\/p>\n

The news release reads: Canada “recognizes that Musqueam has Aboriginal rights including title within their traditional territory and establishes a framework for incremental implementation of rights and nation-to-nation relations with Canada”.<\/p>\n

That phrase “including title” refers to Aboriginal title. Under Canadian constitutional law, Aboriginal title is a contentious but increasingly recognized property interest, affirmed by recent court rulings, including the controversial Cowichan decision<\/a>. Courts have recognized Aboriginal title as a prior and senior right to land that critics say threatens fee simple title or traditional private property ownership in Canada.<\/p>\n

The Musqueam Indian Band’s traditional territory encompasses virtually all of Metro Vancouver, including Vancouver, West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, New Westminster, parts of Delta and Surrey and other regions.<\/p>\n

Based on 2021 census and other data, that territory is home to an estimated 1.8 million British Columbians.<\/p>\n

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The federal government has now formally recognized in writing Musqueam Indian Band’s Aboriginal title over that territory, yet Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada refuses to make the agreement public.<\/p>\n

The February 20 announcement specifically refers to the “\u0161x\u02b7q\u0313\u02b7al\u0315t\u0259l\u0315t\u0259n Rights Recognition Agreement”, described as recognizing Musqueam’s Aboriginal rights, “including title” and establishing a framework for implementation.<\/p>\n

Musqueam Chief Wayne Sparrow emphasized the Aboriginal title component directly in the release:<\/p>\n