Foreign Ownership of Land Regulations

The Foreign Ownership of Land Regulations were made by the Lieutenant Governor in Council on May 22, 1979, pursuant to subsections 33(2) and 33(3) of the Citizenship Act (Canada), sections 2, 4 and 5 of The Agricultural and Recreational Land Ownership Act (Alberta), sections 25.1, 146, 156, 167 and 177 of The Companies Act (Alberta), sections 4 and 24 of The Co-operative Associations Act (Alberta), sections 6 and 64 of The Credit Union Act (Alberta), sections 13 and 26 of The Religious Societies’ Land Act (Alberta) and sections 7 and 25 of The Societies Act (Alberta).

These Regulations may be cited as the Foreign Ownership of Land Regulations. In these Regulations, 'Act' means the Citizenship Act (Canada); 'controlled land' means land in Alberta but does not include land of the Crown in right of Alberta, land within the boundaries of a city, town, new town, village or summer village, and mines and minerals.

The Regulations prohibit ineligible persons and foreign controlled corporations from taking or acquiring interests in controlled land. However, certain exceptions are made for specific purposes such as industrial development, construction of infrastructure, or extraction of natural resources. The Regulations also provide for the acquisition of interests through leases, options to purchase, or the completion of a purchase under an agreement for sale or interim agreement.

The percentage of foreign ownership of a corporation with share capital is calculated based on the percentage of outstanding shares held by ineligible persons and other corporations. The Regulations also exclude certain transactions, interests, uses, and classes of use from their operation, including all or any part of the land within the boundaries of a hamlet as defined in The Municipal Government Act (Alberta).