Meet The 6 Largest Landowners In Canada Today

Discovering who the largest landowners in Canada are may be more difficult than first expected. This is largely due to the fact that Canada has very little private ownership when it comes to land. An estimated 10-12% of the country is privately owned. This is an incredibly small amount when we consider just how large Canada truly is! But how does land ownership in Canada work, and who happens to “own” the most land in this great nation?

In this article, we’ll go over who owns land in Canada as well as how land ownership works in this country. Not only will we address just how large Canada is, but we’ll also go over who truly owns land in this place. Let’s begin by discussing a brief overview of the terrain, size, and general facts surrounding Canada as a whole now.

How Large is Canada? An Overview

Canada is technically the second-largest country in the world, following Russia. It is a whopping 3.8 million square miles, though some of this total includes water surface area as well. Based on land mass alone, Canada is the fourth-largest country. The size of its freshwater resources ranks number one in the entire world, taking up nearly 12% of the country. Canada also boasts winning titles as the country with the longest coastline and international border in the world. 

But just how populated is this large, beautiful region? Canada is fascinating in that roughly 40 million people occupy it. In fact, this figure nearly matches the total population found within the city of Tokyo, Japan. When we compare the population densities of Tokyo and Canada with their respective land masses, the figures are astounding. Canada has an equal population to Tokyo. But Canada holds 3.8 million square miles versus Tokyo’s 5,200 square miles!

So, what takes up so much space in Canada? This country is renowned for its natural beauty, resources, and protected lands. Boreal forests or taiga, the Appalachians, and Arctic regions comprise much of the land in Canada. Prairies found in low-lying regions of the nation are also significant, particularly when it comes to land ownership in this country. 

Land ownership in Canada is complicated. This is largely because most of the land is owned by a very specific entity: the King or Queen of the United Kingdom.

The Significance of Crown Lands

Canada, alongside 14 other countries, is known as a Commonwealth realm. Much like Australia, the majority of Canada’s land is known as Crown lands. This essentially means that most land in Canada is technically owned by the monarchy, But this land has been, in a way, leased to both provincial and federal Canadian governments. 

In fact, most of the landowners we’ll be discussing today don’t technically own their land. It is land that still belongs to the monarchy, despite all of the legal control granted to provincial and federal governments. Canada also maintains agreements with its Indigenous and First Nations peoples, granting them protected land and local government capabilities. 

Still, roughly 89% of all land in Canada remains government-owned, a government directly influenced and ruled by a monarchy. With legal influence and some control passed down to provincial and federal governments, we’ll discuss Canada’s landowners with the notion of Crown lands in mind.

The Largest Landowners in Canada

Even though the King or Queen of Canada (and the United Kingdom, among many other Commonwealth realms) technically owns most of the land in Canada, let’s discuss how the land in Canada is distributed. Plus, we’ll discuss some potential private landowners in Canada, even if they don’t privately own each and every acre found under their names!

Provincial Governments

By and large, the largest landowners in Canada are provincial governments. It is estimated that 48% of all of the land in Canada is owned provincially. Control of those lands is granted to local, provincial governments. With the passage of the Natural Resources Acts in the 1930s, many Canadian provinces gained control over the resources found on their lands. Some of these provinces include Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, and British Columbia.

Like the individual states found within the United States, the provinces of Canada have distinct control and power that can differ from their federal government. When it comes to how provinces use their land, most of the land owned by Canada’s provinces includes protected wilderness areas and forests.

Canadian Federal Government

Given that the federal government of Canada is technically a single entity, the Government of Canada is among the largest landowners in the world–not just in Canada alone! Roughly 41% of all the land in Canada is owned by the federal government. This land includes national parks, protected resource regions, railroad systems, and Indigenous land. 

The Government of Canada even has land ownership in some of Canada’s provinces. Just like national forests and parks in the United States, control over certain locations within provinces passes to the federal government rather than local jurisdiction. Much of Canada’s natural wilderness and northern territories are owned by the federal government.

Indigenous Peoples

Land ownership in Canada is truly complicated, especially for Canada’s Indigenous and First Nations populations. Roughly 11,000 square miles of Canadian land is reserved for its Indigenous peoples. This land is protected and set apart from many local or federal laws when it comes to land usage. While still technically “owned” by the Crown, these lands are governed by First Nations governments, also known as bands.

Private Landowners

Are there truly any private landowners in all of Canada? Technically, 11% of Canada is privately owned. And roughly 6% of this land is vested in agricultural endeavors. With this in mind, let’s take a quick glance at some private landowners in Canada and what they truly own!

Stan Kroenke

Owning an estimated 270,000 acres in Canada, Stan Kroenke is one of the largest private landowners in the entire country. Kroenke owns Douglas Lake Ranch, a huge property that occupies over 1 million acres of Canadian grazing land. While much of this acreage is still technically owned by the Canadian government, Kroenke is the largest private landowner in the country.

Robert Andjelic

Acting as a type of landlord over most of Canada’s farmland, Robert Andjelic owns roughly 225,000 acres of private farmland in the country. Instead of making his own sprawling ranch, Andjelic leases plots and properties to other Canadian farmers. This allows them to use the land as they please, starting farms and ranches that bring Canada a good deal of commerce.

Travis Heide

While owning 40,000 acres doesn’t sound as impressive as owning 270,000 acres, Travis Heide likes to keep his acreage organic. The largest organic farmowner in Canada, Heide has expanded his property line tremendously since 2018. Heide owns his acreage in Saskatchewan, the same province as Robert Andjelic, known for its plains and grasslands.

Summary of the Largest Landowners in Canada

The photo featured at the top of this post is © iStock.com/husayno