During a panel discussion on Power & Politics, Liberal strategist Carlene Varian stated that First Nations and Métis people are the “actual rights holders of the land” in Alberta. Turns out, that statement wasn't correct.
A claim made during CBC’s coverage of the Alberta independence debate is being challenged by constitutional experts and the historical text of the numbered treaties themselves.
During a panel discussion on Power & Politics, Liberal strategist Carlene Varian stated that First Nations and Métis people are the “actual rights holders of the land” in Alberta.
Carlene Variyan: "Premier Smith talks about 300k who wrote their name on a petition. There are also 100k+ and generations of First Nations and Métis people in Alberta who are the actual rights holders of the land that Danielle Smith and her party have decided they want to take… pic.twitter.com/X76XM5gsGM
— Scott Robertson (@sarobertson_) May 13, 2026
However, Alberta’s numbered treaties do not state that First Nations retain ownership of all land in the province.
Josh Dehaas, a lawyer with the Canadian Constitution Foundation, responded by noting that Alberta differs legally from British Columbia because Alberta is covered by numbered treaties:
“The entire province was ceded in treaties. Alberta is not like BC where Aboriginal title exists in some areas,” Dehaas wrote.
Most of Alberta falls under Treaties 6, 7 and 8, signed between First Nations and the Crown between 1876 and 1899.
Historical and educational material regarding those treaties describes them as agreements in which land was ceded to the Crown while certain rights were retained by First Nations, including hunting, fishing and reserve rights.
This differs from parts of British Columbia, where some areas were never covered by treaty agreements and Aboriginal title claims remain active.
Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 recognizes and affirms existing Aboriginal and treaty rights in Canada. Courts have also affirmed duties to consult Indigenous communities in certain circumstances.
However, those protections are separate from the claim that First Nations collectively own all land in Alberta.
The treaties themselves do not contain language stating that all Alberta land remains under Indigenous ownership.
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