Frequently Asked Questions

The issues involving land ownership and land use in Prince Edward Island began in the early history of the province. The Island was initially divided into sixty-seven 20,000-acre lots or townships. These lots were allocated in advance of settlement to a relatively small elite group of absentee proprietors. Over time, the land was purchased from the absentee landlords and returned to local ownership.

Issues associated with absentee landlords resurfaced again in the 1960’s, as non-residents began investing in local real estate throughout the province. As a result, substantial amounts of land in the coastal areas fell out of the control of local residents. In 1972, Government introduced amendments to the Real Property Act  to restrict the purchase of land by non-residents.

In 1981, an application by a non-resident corporation to acquire 6,000 acres prompted public concern over the perceived impacts of land ownership distribution and its implications for the future. Some viewed this as giving pre-eminent control of the province’s agricultural industry to one company. This led to the introduction of Bill 37 – the Lands Protection Act (the Act) in 1982.

A person’s aggregate land holding consists of:

1. all land holdings of that person and of his/her minor children;
2. the relevant amount of land holdings of any corporation in which he/she, they or any of them, hold more than 5% of the issued voting shares; and
3. the relevant amount of the land holdings of any other corporation in which the person in #1 or any corporation in #2 holds more than 5% of the issued voting shares.

A corporation’s aggregate land holding consists of:

1. all land holdings of that corporation;
2. all land holdings of any person who holds more than 5% of the issued voting shares in that corporation and of his/her minor children; and
3. the relevant amount of the land holdings of any other corporation in which the corporation in #1 or any person in #2 holds more than 5% of the issued voting shares.

A corporation includes a partnership, cooperative association or body corporate and for the purposes of the Act, a corporation and other corporations directly or indirectly controlled by the same person, group or organization shall be deemed to be one corporation.

The Commission is responsible for the general administration of the Act. It reviews and obtains pertinent information and makes recommendations to Government on applications for land purchases governed by the Act.

Executive Council, on behalf of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, makes the final decision on applications for land acquisitions governed by the Act, based on the recommendations of the Commission.

Among the factors considered by the Commission are:

A non-resident person or corporation, or a resident corporation must make application if the person or corporation will have an aggregate land holding

• in excess of 5 acres, or
• having shore frontage in excess of 165 feet. Refer to Shore Frontage Regulations.

A non-resident person who acquires a land holding by gift, devise or inheritance from a spouse, sibling or direct descendent or ancestor is exempt from making application.

A person is considered to be a resident of Prince Edward Island if they meet all of the following:

• They are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada;
• They have resided and maintained their principal residence in the province for not less than 365 days during the 24 month period immediately prior to acquiring a land holding; AND
• They file their tax return in Prince Edward Island.

No. Effective April 1, 2022, the Lands Protection Act was amended to require an application when any number of non-residents or corporations are acquiring a parcel greater than 5 acres, or has shore frontage in excess of 165 feet.  

The attribution rules listed in subsection 1(5) of the Act do not apply when calculating the aggregate land holding for purposes of determining whether an application is required. In other words, the full acreage and/or shore frontage is applied to each person or corporation for determining whether an application is required.

Yes, Executive Council approval is required if you are a corporation or a non-resident person who will have an aggregate land holding in excess of 5 acres or shore frontage in excess of 165 feet, and you have or intend to have use, possession or control of a parcel regardless of the value and formality of the agreement.  You may apply to obtain approval to hold specific parcels of land by way of lease on the appropriate application Form 1 or Form 2, or apply for a Global Lease Permit Form 8A.

A Global Lease Permit enables you to apply for permission to acquire land by way of lease and to continue to hold a permitted number of acres of land as part of your aggregate land holding.  This permit is especially useful for farm corporations that use different parcels of land each year in their crop rotation process.  Application can be made to change the permitted acreage amount.

A statement (Global Lease Permit Report Form 8B) must be filed yearly with the Commission by every global lease permit holder on or before December 31, whether or not you leased land that particular year. The total permitted acreage of a global permit is included in the calculation of a person or corporation’s aggregate land holding, whether the acreage leased in is equal to the total permitted amount or not. This ensures that the allowable land holding limits are not exceeded. If you have a global lease permit but do not lease land, the total amount of your permit is still included in your aggregate land holdings.

Landowners are able to deduct 50% of the land leased out to another person or corporation, up to the lesser of one-half the number of acres of arable land held to a maximum of 500 acres of arable land for a person, and 1,500 acres of arable land for a corporation.

Government may approve a land purchase with conditions, including:

• That land not be subdivided except for:
  • agricultural, forestry or fisheries production;
  • a conservation use pursuant to a designation as a natural area, archaeological site or heritage place;
  • a parks use by federal, provincial or municipal government;
  • a residential use by the owner;
• That land be identified for non-development use under the Land Identification Regulations;
• That land be consolidated with adjoining parcel(s) of land; and
• That the applicant becomes a resident within a specified time period.

The conditions of identification and no subdivision run with the land and continue to be in effect even if the land is sold or conveyed to another party.

All identification agreements and no-subdivision conditions expire automatically after 10 years and without application by the land owner. Information to cancel, suspend or amend a condition prior to 10 years can be accessed here.

Applications have been denied for the following reasons:

• A large acreage of farm land would be controlled by non-resident(s) that had no intention to relocate to the province;
• Aggregate land holdings were beyond the limits set out in the Act;
• Land holdings of a person or corporation in a particular area of the province were at a level beyond what was believed to be in the public interest;
• Land flipping and speculation appeared to motivate the transaction;
• The purchase would have resulted in the control of the majority of the shore frontage of a local body of water being held by a non-resident person;
• Government wanted to provide an opportunity to local residents/farmers to purchase the land;
• A significant proportion of land or shore frontage in a local area was already controlled by non-residents; and
• An intention to circumvent the land identification program appeared to motivate the transaction.

You should file a retroactive application to ensure that you are in full compliance with the Act.

A person or corporation can hold an aggregate land holding of no more than:

• 1,000 acres for a person
• 3,000 acres for a corporation

Yes, the non-arable acreages can be excluded from the calculation of the aggregate land holding of up to 400 acres for a person or 1,200 acres for a corporation. However, the exclusion of non-arable land does not exempt the requirement to make application for approval to acquire the land (i.e. if a corporation or a non-resident person is acquiring 10 acres of land, 6 acres of which is non-arable land, an application would still be necessary).

Generally 3-4 weeks is required from the date an application is filed to the date a decision is rendered. However, depending on the complexity of the application, additional time may be required.

The Executive Council Order should be registered with the deed.

Please see the Application Review Process at the end of this publication.

An application for a land purchase must include the following:

• a completed application form;
• an orthophoto or GeoLinc map of the parcel(s) outlined in red;
• a legal description of the subject parcel(s);
• if the applicant is a non-resident person or corporation, details of recent advertising of the land on the local real estate market (more information);
• a submission detailing how the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act applies to the proposed transaction; and
• a fee of $550 or 1% of the agreed purchase price, whichever is greater [for all applications by non-resident corporations or corporations where the majority of voting shares are owned by non-resident(s), and most non-residents] . For more information, please refer to LPA Fees Regulations. Cheques should be made payable to the Prince Edward Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission.

The completed application is submitted to the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission. Tentative schedule for land applications.

It is important that you return the Executive Council Order to the Commission with a request that the Order be rescinded, especially if the Order states that the approval is conditional, i.e. subject to identification for non-development use or subject to the condition that the parcel not be subdivided, etc.  Executive Council conditions only attach to a parcel at the time title is transferred to the applicant.  Therefore, rescinding Orders that will not occur enables the Commission to change our database to reflect that the condition does not apply to the parcel because the applicant did not acquire the land.  Otherwise, the parcel will continue to show as “identified”, “subject to no subdivision”, etc., in our records.

When an application is denied or is approved but no part of the purchase has been or will be completed, the Commission may refund up to 50% of the application fee upon application. An application must be made to the Commission within six months of the date of the decision and must include:

• a statutory declaration stating the grounds for the refund: and
• the original Order that granted or denied permission to acquire the land.

A person having an aggregate land holding in excess of 750 acres or a corporation having an aggregate land holding in excess of 2,250 acres is required to file an annual land holding disclosure statement with the Commission.

Pursuant to section 12 of the Act, the Commission may on its own initiative, and shall at the direction of the Minister, conduct an investigation for the purpose of determining whether a person or corporation has contravened the Act or the regulations. The Act provides for penalties for non-compliance that can be imposed by the Commission and/or the Minister. For example,

• The Minister may issue an order requiring that a person or corporation reduce his aggregate land holding to comply with the maximum allowable limit;

• The Commission may issue administrative monetary penalties up to $20,000.

For further information contact:

The Prince Edward Island Regulatory & Appeals Commission
5th Floor, National Bank Tower,
134 Kent Street, PO Box 577
Charlottetown PE, Canada  C1A 7L1

Tel: (902) 892-3501
PEI toll-free 1-800-501-6268
Fax: (902) 566-4076
lpainquiries@irac.pe.ca

The Application Review Process

Application is filed with Commission
↓
Commission reviews and makes recommendation
↓
Commission submits recommendation to Lieutenant Governor in Council
↓
Lieutenant Governor in Council reviews and makes final decision
↓
Lieutenant Governor in Council sends Order containing disposition of application to applicant or his/her representative
↓
Order is registered with the deed for the parcel

The information contained in this publication is intended as a guide and not as a legal reference. The PEI Lands Protection Act should be consulted for an exact statement of law.

Initially Published: 1997-08-25
Last Reviewed or Updated: 2022-12-12