Can a Non-Canadian Buy Farmland in Alberta? The 2-Parcel, 20-Acre Rule

You may be a non-citizen who wants to buy a quarter section, a hobby farm or acreage. You may be a family member abroad who has inherited rural land. Alberta has its own rules about who can own rural land, and they are different from the federal rules on residential property.

This article explains the provincial limit in plain terms: what land it covers, who it applies to, the main exemptions, and what can happen if the limits are exceeded. Every deal turns on its own facts, so a lawyer should confirm how the rules apply to yours.

This article covers the law of Alberta.

What land the rule covers

The Agricultural and Recreational Land Ownership Act calls the land it governs "controlled land". That is land in Alberta other than Crown land, land within city, town, village or summer village boundaries, and mines and minerals.

In practice, non-Canadians who are not permanent residents are restricted only as to controlled land, meaning rural agricultural and recreational land. They are not restricted as to land inside city, town, village or summer village boundaries.

The Act lets the Lieutenant Governor in Council make regulations restricting the taking or acquisition of interests in controlled land. Those regulations are the Foreign Ownership of Land Regulations (AR 160/79).

Who is restricted, and the core cap

Under the Regulations, no ineligible person or foreign controlled corporation may take or acquire controlled land, subject to an allowance of not more than 2 parcels totalling not more than 20 acres.

An ineligible person is an individual who is not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, a foreign government or its agency, or a corporation incorporated outside Canada. Canadian citizens and permanent residents (landed immigrants) are not affected by the regulations.

A corporation is foreign-controlled if share ownership is 50% or more foreign, or if it is effectively controlled by foreigners. For public corporations, only shareholders owning 5% or more are counted, provided two-thirds of directors are Canadian citizens or permanent residents.

Trusts cannot be used to get around the regulations. Tenants in common may not acquire an interest in a parcel over 20 acres if more than 5 ineligible persons or foreign controlled corporations would hold it.

Exemptions that may apply

The Regulations list several exceptions to the general rule. Each has conditions, so check the details before relying on one.

• Leases of 20 years or less, if registered within 60 days.
• Options to purchase controlled land, if exercisable within one year.
• A single residence up to 20 acres, or a residential development up to 80 acres, where the area is suitable for residential use.
• Industrial, processing, manufacturing, commercial or transportation facilities up to 80 acres per facility.
• Sand, gravel, clay or marl extraction up to 160 acres per project.
• Right-of-entry orders, pipelines, power and telephone systems, inherited estates, court charges for spouses or children, and cemetery plots.

Beyond these standard exemptions, a foreign person may seek an Order in Council, which is granted at the discretion of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Declarations, divestiture and judicial sale

Declarations on Forms 1 to 4.1 (citizenship, residency, corporate ownership or trustee) are required with transfers, transmissions, caveats or subdivision plans. The Registrar must refuse to register a transfer, transmission, caveat or lease without the statutory declaration, and the Minister may direct the Registrar not to register until compliance is shown. Corporations owning controlled land file an annual report (Form 5) when the Minister requires it, within 60 days of a notice and each anniversary after.

Some land must be given up over time. Land held under certain exemptions must be divested within 3 years of the purpose ending, reclamation completing or the purpose being abandoned. A corporation that becomes foreign controlled through share changes, amalgamation or foreclosure generally has 3 years to divest, unless it stops being foreign controlled for at least 12 continuous months within that period. After a foreclosure, the ineligible person must divest of the land within 3 years.

If limits are exceeded, a court may order a judicial sale of land that must be divested or was acquired unlawfully, on the Attorney General's application. Proceeds first cover costs, then the owner's purchase price, and any remainder goes to the General Revenue Fund.

The federal ban is a separate rule

Federally, the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act prohibits a non-Canadian from purchasing residential property, directly or indirectly. Property outside a census agglomeration or census metropolitan area is excluded from "residential property", so the federal ban generally does not reach rural land outside those areas. The ban continues to January 1, 2027, so confirm its current status before you buy.

The two regimes are independent. A purchase can be fine under one and caught by the other, so both need checking.

Alberta has explored changes to the Regulations, such as exempting certain commercially or industrially zoned lands and some estate-planning transfers between foreign family members. That policy work is paused and no change is in force, so the rules described here still apply.

What to do next

• Confirm your status: citizen, permanent resident, or neither.
• If a corporation or trust is buying, work out who owns and controls it.
• Get the legal land description and check whether the land is inside a city, town, village or summer village boundary.
• Count the parcels and acres you already hold or would hold.
• Check whether an exemption fits, and its conditions and deadlines, such as registering a lease within 60 days.
• Ask a lawyer about the declaration forms before closing, since registration can be refused without them.

Frequently asked questions