The proposed Property Rights Statutes Amendment Act would end the policy of adverse possession in Alberta, December 2022. (File photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko/LethbridgeNewsNOW

Province aims to end ‘squatter’s rights’

Dec 5, 2022 | 4:36 PM

EDMONTON – The provincial government has introduced legislation that it says would give property owners greater levels of protection.

If passed, the Property Rights Statutes Amendment Act, 2022, would amend the existing Law of Property Act, the Land Titles Act, and the Limitations Act, to abolish the principle of adverse possession.

Justice Minister Tyler Shandro explains that adverse possession, more commonly known as ‘squatter’s rights,’ allows a person to claim legal ownership of a piece of property if they have lived there for 10 years.

“The Canadian Bill of Rights, passed by Prime Minister Diefenbaker in 1960, protects the ‘enjoyment of property, and the right not to be deprived thereof except by due process of law.’ Unfortunately, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, enacted in 1982, failed to enshrine property rights for the individual,” says Shandro.

The minister continues, “This means that provinces – which have constitutional authority over property – must step up and defend property rights. Alberta is stepping up by introducing a bill to abolish adverse possession and restore the rights of Alberta’s property owners.”

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In 2021, the Select Special Committee on Property Rights heard from Albertans on the topic of adverse possession.

Chair RJ Sigurdson says property owners told the committee that they wanted this provision to be eliminated.

“While listening to Albertans share their views on property rights, I heard over and over again that adverse possession causes stress for landowners and should be abolished. This legislation responds to the concerns I heard, and if passed, will put landowners at ease, knowing that the law will now protect them,” says Sigurdson.

The Alberta Law Reform Institute states that between 2012 and 2019, nine cases of adverse possession had been listed in official court documents in the province. The Institute, however, notes that matters of squatter’s rights sometimes never make it to the courts, so it is difficult to say how common it is.

Public lands, municipal lands, and irrigation districts are already exempt from adverse possession.