The Wolastoqey Nation sought leave to appeal a New Brunswick Court of Appeal ruling holding that a declaration of Aboriginal title cannot be made over privately owned lands. On May 28, 2026, the Supreme Court of Canada denied leave, which leaves the appeal court's decision standing as the law in that province.
A denial of leave is not the same thing as the Supreme Court endorsing the reasoning below. The court gives no reasons when it refuses leave, and the decision does not become binding nationally. But it does mean the ruling stays in force where it was made, and other courts will be pointed to it.
The British Columbia connection
The timing matters because of the Cowichan Tribes litigation in British Columbia, where the BC Supreme Court reached a notably different conclusion - treating Aboriginal title as a senior interest compared with fee simple ownership on land along the Fraser River. That decision is under appeal by the Province, the City of Richmond, and other parties.
The federal Crown-Indigenous Relations department has indicated the New Brunswick outcome will inform arguments in those proceedings, and has emphasised the importance it places on private property rights.
Why it matters
For BC property owners in particular, the law here is genuinely unsettled and moving. Two appellate paths are pointing in different directions, and the Cowichan appeal has not been decided. Anyone buying, financing, or developing land that falls within a title claim area should be getting current advice rather than relying on what the position appeared to be even a year ago.