How the Federal Foreign Buyer Ban Applies to Alberta Acreages

If you are not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and want to buy a house, acreage or rural lot in Alberta, you may have heard about the federal ban on foreign buyers. Whether it applies depends on who you are and where the property sits.

This article walks through the federal rule, its main exceptions and how Alberta's own rural land limits fit alongside it. Rules and dates change, so confirm the current position with a lawyer before you commit.

This article covers the law of Alberta.

What the federal ban says

The Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act prohibits a non-Canadian from purchasing, directly or indirectly, any residential property. A non-Canadian is an individual who is not a Canadian citizen, registered Indian or permanent resident, a corporation incorporated outside Canada, or certain unlisted Canadian corporations controlled by them.

A non-Canadian who contravenes the ban, or a person who knowingly helps one do so, is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than $10,000.

The ban was set to end, but its repeal was delayed so that it continues to January 1, 2027. Check whether it has been extended before relying on that date.

The rural exception

Property that is not within a census agglomeration or census metropolitan area is excluded from the meaning of residential property, so the federal ban generally does not reach rural land outside those areas. An acreage close to a city may sit inside such an area, while a more remote lot may not. Which side your property falls on is a factual question to confirm before you make an offer.

Other federal exceptions

• Temporary residents with a work permit that has 183 days or more of validity remaining, buying no more than one residential property.
• Certain students at designated institutions who meet conditions: five years of tax returns, at least 244 days in Canada in each of the five prior years, a price not over $500,000 and one property.
• A non-Canadian buying with a spouse or common-law partner who is a Canadian citizen, registered Indian, permanent resident or qualifying protected person or temporary resident.
• Protected persons, and foreign states buying for diplomatic or consular purposes.
• Acquisitions by inheritance, divorce, separation or gift, renting to a tenant, and acquisitions for development.

Each exception has conditions, so do not assume you qualify from a short summary.

Alberta's separate rural land limits

Alberta has its own rules. Canadian citizens and permanent residents are not affected, and non-Canadians who are not permanent residents are restricted only as to controlled land, meaning rural agricultural and recreational land, not land inside city, town, village or summer village boundaries. Trusts cannot be used to get around these rules.

Generally, an ineligible person or foreign controlled corporation may not take controlled land, but may hold not more than 2 parcels totalling not more than 20 acres. Statutory exemptions include a single residence up to 20 acres. Declarations are required with transfers, and the Registrar shall refuse to register a transfer without the statutory declaration.

Other Alberta exceptions exist. Leases of 20 years or less are allowed if registered within 60 days, and options to purchase controlled land are allowed if exercisable within one year. Statutory exemptions also cover a residential development up to 80 acres, but only where the area is suitable for residential use. They also cover industrial, processing, manufacturing, commercial or transportation facilities up to 80 acres per facility, and sand, gravel, clay or marl extraction up to 160 acres per project. Land held under several of these exemptions must be divested within 3 years of the purpose ending, reclamation completing or the purpose being abandoned, so it generally cannot be held indefinitely. Right-of-entry orders, pipelines, power and telephone systems, inherited estates, court charges for spouses or children, and cemetery plots are also exempt. Beyond these, a foreign person may seek an Order in Council, granted at the Lieutenant Governor in Council's discretion.

What to do next

• Confirm your status: citizen, permanent resident, work permit holder or other.
• Find the property's legal description and ask whether it lies in a census agglomeration or census metropolitan area.
• Check whether it is controlled land and how many acres you would hold.
• Ask a lawyer whether an exception applies and which declarations you must sign.
• Check current federal sources for any change to the January 1, 2027 date.

Frequently asked questions