Legislation that allows for adverse possession, also known as squatter’s rights, remains in Alberta law despite three political attempts and several legal recommendations to remove it.
The government on May 14 voted down the latest effort, presented as Bill 204 by Calgary-Fish Creek MLA Richard Gotfried.
“Three strikes and you’re out, I guess,” said the United Conservative Party member.
“It’s pretty sad that we had an opportunity to do the right thing this time around and there’s certainly no shortage of evidence that it is an outdated and archaic law … and it’s kind of sad that we couldn’t get that done on this occasion.”
Read Also
First annual Ag in Motion Junior Cattle Show kicks off with a bang
Ag in Motion 2025 had its first annual junior cattle show on July 15. The show hosted more than 20…
Adverse possession allows a person to claim ownership of land if he or she has been in open possession of it for 10 years or more without having a valid agreement with the landowner.
It’s generally but wrongly considered to be more of an issue in rural Alberta, where property lines or fence lines are assumed but not recently verified, or where people are allowed by the owner to use property and then they later lay claim to it.
Such was the situation in a 2014 southern Alberta legal case near Cardston, when a rancher lost a 10-acre parcel to neighbours who had been using it.
However, adverse possession affects all property owners.
One of Gotfried’s Calgary constituents, Jim McIndoe, recently lost 750 sq. feet of his residential lot in the Lake Bonavista community due to incorrect placement of a fence.
“What it means with adverse possession is your title is only good for 10 years and after 10 years, if somebody wants to make the fence the property line, it becomes the property line. It’s an archaic law and it’s quite scary actually,” said McIndoe.
He said he was shocked to find that squatter’s rights are part of Alberta legislation, given that he had certificates of title and property reports for his land and had been paying taxes on its full dimensions for 16 years.
Now more than 750 sq. feet of land belongs to his neighbour, who is also suing him for legal costs in the dispute.
Gotfried’s private members bill was lost in a May 14 legislative vote. Government members who spoke against the bill expressed concern about “unintended consequences” of abolishing adverse possession.
However, the Standing Committee on Resource Stewardship, which has government majority, recommended in February 2017 that the adverse possession law be stricken from the books.
“While considering the issue, the committee acknowledged that the law of adverse possession is archaic and has been abolished in other provincial jurisdictions except in Nova Scotia, which is currently in the process of abolishing this doctrine,” the report said.
“The committee therefore determined that adverse possession should be abolished in Alberta.”
Gotfried said he has two theories about why the NDP government voted against his motion.
“Number one is that they don’t want to be embarrassed that they have let it sit for two years of inaction,” he said, noting no action has been taken on the committee recommendation nor on another 2014 recommendation made by then-Alberta Property Rights Advocate Lee Cutforth.
“The other more ideological question is, do they somehow believe that squatters should have rights, still, in our society? Why would we not change it unless we have some kind of a bias toward squatters deserving some kind of rights?”
The government has asked the Alberta Law Reform Institute to review the law. Gotfried said his inquiries to that body indicate the process might take 12 to 18 months.
“I now have a constituent who lost his land because nothing was done about that law, and who is the next MLA who’s going to have a constituent who loses their land over that?” he said.
McIndoe, who was in the legislative gallery two weeks ago for debate on Bill 204, said that although he concedes his property has been lost, he plans to work toward abolition of squatter’s rights.
“I’m going to still work very hard with any of the legislators up in Edmonton. I don’t care what stripe or colour they’re from. I just really want to see this legislation abolished because I don’t want to see anybody else go through what I’ve gone through.
“It’s not fair and it’s not right. It’s crazy, really.”
