The Natural Resources Acts were a series of Acts passed by the Parliament of Canada and the provinces of

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

and

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

in 1930 to transfer control over

crown lands Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. ...

and

natural resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. O ...

within these provinces from the federal government to the provincial governments. Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan had not been given control over their natural resources when they entered

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

, unlike the other Canadian provinces. British Columbia had surrendered certain portions of its natural resources and Crown lands to the federal government, the Railway Belt and the

Peace River Block The Peace River Block is an area of land located in northeastern British Columbia, in the Peace River Country. In exchange for building a rail line across Canada to British Columbia, the Canadian Pacific Railway was given the Railway Belt, of l ...

, when it entered Confederation in 1871, as part of the agreement for the building of the transcontinental railway. Following protracted negotiations, in 1930 the federal government and the four provinces reached a series of agreements for the transfer of the administration of the natural resources to the provincial governments, called the Natural Resources Transfer Agreements. Parliament''Alberta Natural Resources Act'', S.C. 1930, c. 3; ''Railway Belt and Peace River Block Act'', S.C, 1930, c. 37; ''Manitoba Natural Resources Act'', S.C. 1930, c. 29; ''Saskatchewan Natural Resources Act'', S.C. 1930, c. 41. and the four provincial legislatures then passed acts to implement the agreements. Finally, the British Parliament passed the ''Constitution Act, 1930'', to ratify the agreements, entrenching them in the

Constitution of Canada The Constitution of Canada (french: Constitution du Canada) is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents a ...

. The passage of these Acts rendered the ''

Dominion Lands Act The ''Dominion Lands Act'' (long title: ''An Act Respecting the Public Lands of the Dominion'') was an 1872 Canadian law that aimed to encourage the settlement of the Canadian Prairies and to help prevent the area being claimed by the United Sta ...

'' obsolete, since these same lands were no longer under federal jurisdiction. A few small sections of resource-rich territory were excluded from the act, although they would be transferred later.

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

reserves and lands reserved for indigenous persons were excluded under the ''

Indian Act The ''Indian Act'' (, long name ''An Act to amend and consolidate the laws respecting Indians'') is a Canadian act of Parliament that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves. First passed in 1876 and still ...

''.

National park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

s were also excluded - they remain under the jurisdiction of the federal government, and are generally off-limits to resource development.

Alberta Natural Resource Transfer Agreement of 1930

The Alberta Natural Resource Transfer Agreement restricts the inherent hunting and fishing rights for Indigenous Peoples. “The Natural Resource Transfer Agreements with the three Western Provinces provide that laws respecting game in the province shall apply to Indians within the boundaries of the province”.

References

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External links

Moving Here, Staying Here: The Canadian Immigrant Experience
at Library and Archives Canada Constitution of Canada Canadian federal legislation Canadian provincial legislation Economic history of Canada Political history of Alberta Political history of British Columbia Political history of Manitoba Political history of Saskatchewan History of the Northwest Territories Legal history of Canada 1930 in Canadian law 1930 in Alberta Canadian Prairies Natural resources law 1930 in British Columbia 1930 in Manitoba 1930 in Saskatchewan