This has been a big year for Aboriginal title, after both the Haida title agreement and the recent BC Supreme Court Decision recognizing Quwʼutsun (Cowichan) claims to land in Richmond.

Despite signs of progress, or indeed because of them, the Conservative Party of BC and right-wing movements are ramping up efforts to block any extensions of Indigenous authority. We think the case of Haida Gwaii — home to the most sweeping title agreement in Canadian history — holds vital lessons for how to push back against right-wing misinformation on Indigenous rights.

 In 2024, the Conservatives successfully scuttled NDP amendments to the BC Land Act that would have facilitated more land-use agreements with First Nations. At the time, Conservative Leader John Rustad wrongly claimed that the land act amendments were “an assault on your private property rights.”

Conservative misinformation is supported by a whole right-wing ecosystem that has settled on the argument that any progress on reconciliation means an assault on private property rights. This is cynical fearmongering meant to delay overdue progress. BC Rising, a grassroots right-wing populist organization with ties to the Conservatives, hosted two webinars in 2024 painting the Land Act amendments as a threat to property rights. The webinars had hundreds of live online viewers and the recordings have garnered thousands of views (up to 14,000) since. 

When the Haida agreement was announced, Rustad trotted out the false argument that private property on Haida Gwaii was imperilled, when in fact the agreement

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