Last Updated on April 22, 2026
In what stands as a deeply symbolic and legal turning point in Canada, the B.C. Supreme Court has recognized Aboriginal title for the Cowichan Tribes over a section of Richmond’s Lulu Island and adjoining waters of the Fraser River. It’s a ruling legal experts say could have far-reaching implications for private land ownership in Canada.
The 863-page decision, issued August 7 by Justice Barbara Young, concludes that the Cowichan, along with Stz’uminus, Penelakut and Halalt Nations, hold title to about 1,846 acres of land and submerged riverbeds in an area traditionally known as Tl’uqtinus.
The judgment follows a five-year trial that heard 513 days of testimony, including extensive oral histories and expert evidence. It has been dubbed the longest trial in Canada’s history.
In her ruling, Justice Young rejected the argument that existing Crown-granted fee-simple titles automatically override Aboriginal title. Instead, she found that fee-simple interests are invalid if they unjustifiably infringe upon constitutionally protected Indigenous rights.
“I find that the Cowichan’s Aboriginal title, which is grounded in the prior occupation of the Cowichan’s ancestors… is a senior interest in land vis-a-vis the fee simple titles which derive from the Crown grants,” Justice Young wrote in her decision.
“Aboriginal title does not necessarily defeat fee simple title.” she continued. “Rather, where Aboriginal title and fee simple interests exist in the same land, the respective interests must be addressed within the broader framework of reconciliation. In other words, “Aboriginal title is a burden on fee simple title”.
The court also affirmed the Cowichan’s Aboriginal right to fish in the south arm of the Fraser River for food — a right that’s protected under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.
While the ruling does not order the immediate return of lands or compensation, it directs the federal and provincial governments, along with municipalities, to negotiate in good faith with the Cowichan to determine next steps.
In a statement celebrating the decision, the Cowichan Tribes commented,
“We raise our hands to the generations of leaders who fought with nuts’a’maat shqwaluwun (one mind, one heart, and one spirit) for the return of our settlement lands at Tl’uqtinus and our fishing rights in the south arm of the ‘Fraser River’, ever since the Crown began its unauthorized alienation of our lands there in the 1870s.
“It is in their honour and for the wellbeing of our future generations that the Elders, Knowledge Holders, and Chiefs who have gone before us brought this case forward to recognize our Aboriginal title and fishing rights, as a basis for truth and reconciliation, through the courts.”
The case marks the first time since the Supreme Court of Canada’s 2014 Tsilhqot’in Nation decision that a Canadian court has recognized Aboriginal title to specific lands, and it is the first to address the relationship between title and privately held property.
The Musqueam Indian Band, whose asserted territory includes parts of Lulu Island, expressed disappointment with the outcome, stating that it has established “national legal precedent on Aboriginal title and fishing rights” through two major cases in the Supreme Court of Canada, and it plans to “continue to vigorously defend these rights.”
“Musqueam is shocked the court didn’t give effect to oral history and traditional governance protocols, which guide intercommunity relationships since time immemorial,” the Musqueam said in a statement.
The Musqueam and Tsawwassen First Nations, along with the federal and provincial governments, the City of Richmond and the Vancouver-Fraser Port Authority have 30 days to appeal the decision.
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