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By Alice McFarlane

Farm land ownership rules amended

Saskatchewan changes farmland ownership rules

Oct 14, 2025 | 4:13 PM

The Saskatchewan Government has made regulatory amendments to ensure Saskatchewan farm land is Canadian-owned.

It also clarified clarifying the Farm Land Security Board’s powers to enforce regulatory compliance.

Amendments to The Saskatchewan Farm Security Regulations, which support The Saskatchewan Farm Security Act, remove the exemption for the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) to own Saskatchewan farm land and provide further clarification on the Board’s abilities to issue monetary administrative penalties for specific contraventions of the Act and regulations.

Agriculture Minister Daryl Harrison said the government is working to ensure that Saskatchewan farm land remains in the hands of Canadian owners and supports the needs of Saskatchewan producers.

“These amendments ensure the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board will no longer be able to own farm land and clarify the situations where monetary penalties can be applied to farm land owners in contravention of the Act,” Harrison said.

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In 2015, the Act was amended to prevent pension plans from owning Saskatchewan farm land. At the time, CPPIB was given an exemption allowing it to continue to hold the roughly 167,000 acres it owned at that time.

Since then, CPPIB has sold these holdings and now owns no farm land in the province. The new regulatory amendment removes the exemption and prevents CPPIB from acquiring any farm land in Saskatchewan in the future, consistent with other pension plans.

Also in 2015, the government amended the Act to provide the Board additional tools to enforce compliance with farm land ownership rules, including the ability to levy administrative penalties of up to $10,000 for each contravention of the Act.

The amendments further clarify the specific situations where the Board can levy a penalty. This includes a non-Canadian resident or corporation who acquires more than 10 acres of farm land in the province; a Canadian-owned corporation that becomes non-Canadian owned and does not divest itself of holdings over the 10-acre threshold; a person who acquires farm land on behalf of a non-Canadian resident or a non-Canadian owned corporation where that purchase would be in violation of the Act; and a person who has been granted an Exemption to the Act and fails to comply with a term or condition of the exemption order.

Consultations were held before the 2015 Act amendments. Last week the Ministry of Agriculture announced the formation of a Farm Land Ownership Advisory Committee to consult with industry stakeholders and provide recommendations on strengthening the province’s farm land ownership framework.

The Committee’s report is expected by the end of the year.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com