Aboriginal Title is the right of the original inhabitants of what is now Canada to the land they historically occupied.

What is Aboriginal Title?

Under Canadian law the government gained title to the land in what is now Canada when it was colonized but not the use and benefit of the land. This remained with the Indigenous community that occupied the land. Under Canadian law this is called Aboriginal Title. Aboriginal Title is different from other kinds of title.

Aboriginal Title:

is based on the prior occupation of Canada by distinct Indigenous Peoples
belongs to the group as a whole
cannot be transferred to anyone but the government

Aboriginal Title includes the right to:

control access to the land
decide how the land will be used
occupy the land
possess the land whether it is being occupied or not
money from the use of the land or its resources

Who has Aboriginal Title?

To claim Aboriginal Title, the Indigenous community must have been in possession of the land when colonial powers claimed what is now Canada. Physical possession is proof of possession.

Physical possession can mean the Indigenous community built homes on the land or fenced off land for agriculture. It can also mean regular use of the land for hunting, harvesting or fishing. The laws of the community, the size of the community and their way of life must all be considered. Occupying the land now can be evidence of historic possession. But it is not needed if there is other evidence of historic possession.

The community must also have possessed the land exclusively. This can mean they were the only people occupying the land. If others were on the land the community must have shown others they held the land for their own purposes. In the case of lands shared between two Indigenous communities there can be joint Aboriginal Title to the land.

Métis Aboriginal Title

Courts have not ruled one way or the other on whether a Métis community could have Aboriginal Title.

A Métis Indigenous group may claim Aboriginal Title based on their historic occupation of the land. Métis communities were not in possession when colonial powers first claimed this land. But it is possible that a different time period could be used to show title just like a different time period is used to show a right to an Aboriginal Activity.

If a Métis community had Aboriginal Title to an area that a First Nation also has Aboriginal Title to, there might be shared Aboriginal Title.