Federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is the latest politician to call on the federal government to overturn the contentious Cowichan Nation court ruling.
Over the weekend Poilievre and Chak Au, MP for Richmond Centre—Marpole sent a letter to Sean Fraser, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, urging for the precedent setting decision to be revisited.
“This decision creates the risk of profound harm not just to the BC economy, but to the entire Canadian economy,” the letter said.
“The federal government must argue in court against the Cowichan ruling, which threatens the property rights of Canadians and is already scaring away jobs and investment.”
The federal government must argue in court against the Cowichan ruling which threatens the property rights of Canadians and is already scaring away jobs and investments.
— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) September 28, 2025
We must restore property rights in Canada. pic.twitter.com/PQUgoDZ0Dr
The ruling, which was made in August, grants the Cowichan Nation title over approximately 800 acres of land in Richmond, including private properties.
The ruling has sparked concerns about the stability of land titles across British Columbia and Canada.
The Musqueam and Tsawwassen First Nations, along with the federal and provincial governments, the City of Richmond and the Vancouver-Fraser Port Authority all opposed the claim during the 513-day trial.
Shortly after the decision from Justice Barbara Young, BC said it would appeal the ruling.
Although the provincial government plans to appeal the decision, their efforts stop short of seeking extinguishment of the Indigenous rights over private property so this type of case doesn’t happen again.
When extinguishment is applied to contract law, it rescinds or terminates the legal claim.
In a statement to NowMedia, BC Attorney General and Deputy Premier Niki Sharma said the ruling could have significant unintended consequences for fee simple private property rights.
In his letter, Poilievre criticized comments from Gregor Robertson, MP for Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, who claimed the decision would not affect private property rights.
He said Robertson’s “downplayed” comments were at odds with claims from BC Premier David Eby who has noted that owning private property with clear title is key to borrowing for a mortgage, economic certainty and the real estate market.
“The lead lawyer for the Cowichan Tribes has already stated that private land sales would need the consent of the Cowichan before they could go ahead,” Poilievre said in his letter.
“It is already causing investment to flee, with businesses and homeowners facing difficulties as funders have major concerns about the uncertainty this situation has created.”
When speaking to reports on Tuesday, Poilievre claimed the court found in its ruling that fee simple property rights, which have existed for hundreds of years and “are the foundation of our very economy,” should be overturned.
“That would devastate our entire economy. It is already causing investment to flee our country,” he said. “People are not going to build factories, open up jobs, start businesses or even buy homes if they think that their land could be confiscated and given to someone else.”
Poilievre concluded by saying the Conservatives stand for property rights, protecting Canadians homes and fighting any legal attempts to take private property from owners.
John Rustad, the BC Conservative Leader, also addressed the ruling during his speech at the Union of BC Municipalities convention at the end of September.
Rustad said the BC NDP’s Heritage Conservation Act amendments, Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), and the Cowichan decision have created chaos and uncertainty for municipalities and builders, stalling housing projects across the province.
“Certainty builds housing. Uncertainty kills it,” Rustad said. “We will repeal the HCA amendments, repeal DRIPA, and refer the Cowichan decision to the Supreme Court of Canada.”
In an interview with NowMedia Group, former senior government counsel Geoff Moyse expressed doubt about the ruling's finding that Aboriginal title and fee simple interests can coexist.
"You can't have two parties having the exclusive right to occupy and use a piece of land,” he said.
He highlighted the ruling's potential ramifications and criticized the provincial and federal governments for not employing the extinguishment of Indigenous title.
"I’m astonished by this, I have to say. It was not argued by the province that these grants extinguished Aboriginal title. It was not argued by Canada," he said.
"I'm not terribly comfortable relying on the BC government to appeal this case when they've basically given away one of the strongest arguments that they had," Moyse stated.
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