Ownership of Woodland Hills
There are restrictions on foreign ownership of land but I do not believe that they
are real problems.
Technically, non-Canadians are restricted to owning 40 acres of land under The Farm
Lands Ownership Act of Manitoba. The Act is designed to encourage non-Canadians
owning property to take title as Qualified Immigrants. In practice this does not
prevent non-Canadians from acquiring more than 40 acres. Let me explain. From the
date of purchase a non-Canadian has two (2) years within which to establish a permanent
residence in Canada to become an "eligible individual" to own the land under that
legislation. If you fail to become an eligible individual within two (2) years after
acquiring the property, The Farm Lands Ownership Board will:
- a extend the period of time within which you are required to become an eligible
individual;
- b grant you an exemption (which would entitle you to continue to own the land);
or
- c require you to reduce your holdings through a mandatory divestiture of the land
within one (1) year.
I am not aware of any examples of remedy (c) being enforced. I am informed that
it is relatively straight forward to obtain the exemption in (b). Also the land
here is recreational land which permits some farming, grazing of cattle and horses,
and therefore is not really the subject matter of the act which was to avoid absentee
farmers. While we had no trouble complying with the Act, we are sure that you will
understand that we strongly recommend any interested purchaser to have independent
legal representation to check this out for themselves.