The Cowichan Tribes Decision: Local Government Implications

The Cowichan Tribes decision of the British Columbia Supreme Court, indexed at Cowichan Tribes v. Canada (Attorney General), 2025 BCSC 1490 [Cowichan Tribes], has garnered significant media attention since its release in August of 2025. There are many features of the case that are remarkable. For one, it was the longest trial in Canadian history, running a total of 513 days, from 2019 until 2023. Eighty-six lawyers appeared as counsel for the various parties, which included the Cowichan Tribes, the Attorney General of British Columbia, the Attorney General of Canada, the City of Richmond, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (the “VFPA”), the Musqueam Indian Band (the “Musqueam”), and the Tsawwassen First Nation (the “TFN”). The resulting judgment runs 863 pages. 

However, the more remarkable component of the case is the fact that, for the first time in Canadian legal history, a court found that Aboriginal title exists in respect existing fee simple titles. The Court held that Cowichan Tribes’ Aboriginal title invalidated the fee simple titles of Canada and Richmond and that its Aboriginal title also at least co-existed with the fee simple titles of private owners who had not been notified of the proceedings. Those are findings are both unprecedented in Canadian legal history. 

The analysis that led the Court to these conclusions is lengthy, complex, and deserving of careful thought and attention. The purpose of this paper is not to provide a comprehensive review of every issue canvassed in the judgment. Rather, our goal is to give readers a foundation in the core concepts behind the decision and to explain, in brief, the outcome. 

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