CBC | 14 April 2026
Saskatchewan looks to modernize farm land ownership rules, launching 'comprehensive review'
by Alexander Quon
Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit announced a comprehensive review of the Saskatchewan Farm Security Act on April 14, 2026. (Alexander Quon/CBC)Saskatchewan will launch a "comprehensive review" of its legislation governing farm land ownership.
The province will look at updating a piece of legislation that has not had significant revisions since 1988, according to Kim McLean, general manager of the Farm Land Security Board.
Agriculture Minister David Marit announced the review at a news conference on Tuesday, saying it will ensure any potential changes to the Saskatchewan Farm Security Act will "meet the needs of Saskatchewan producers."
It will include public and stakeholder consultations and comes after an initial review conducted by the Farm Land Ownership Advisory Committee.
The committee was established in 2025 and over the past year has met with the province's agricultural, real estate, legal and financial sectors, according to the provincial government.
Marit said the comprehensive review will explore opportunities to "improve ownership verification, strengthen penalty and enforcement tools, modernize definitions, and strengthen reporting obligations and oversight of permanent residents."
Currently, fines for those involved in the illegal foreign ownership of Saskatchewan farmland are set at a maximum of $50,000 for an individual and $500,000 for a corporation.
Marit declined to speculate on what an increased penalty system could look like but said it's necessary in order to have the fine correspond to the modern cost of farmland.
Bill Huber, president of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, attended the news conference on Tuesday.
He described the review as a "great opportunity."
"It's great news and we appreciate the work that [the Ministry of Agriculture has] done in the past couple of years on this," Huber said.
The review will also consider other components of the act that were not examined by the committee, including farm security and home quarter protection, Marit said.
He hopes to have legislative changes introduced by the first quarter of 2027, he said.
The committee also conducted research into farm land ownership.
