Canada Lands Company Limited () is a self-financing federal Crown corporation reporting to the Parliament of Canada through Public Services and Procurement Canada. The company is responsible for managing property on behalf of the federal government, conducting public consultation and integrating properties back into their surrounding communities for development. Most of its assets are located in Canadian urban centres, and are sold after the CLC revalued the property by providing managerial support and subsidizing immediate costs such as decontamination. However, the company retains ownership of some of Canada's most valued properties, such as Downsview Park, the CN Tower, the Old Port of Montreal and the Montreal Science Centre, from which it draws rental and hospitality revenues.

History

The CLC was founded in 1956 as the Public Works Lands Company Limited (PWLCL). Its original function was to act as "an intermediary handling public land development, leases, permits, title transfers, etc. for other government departments". The PWLCL had little activity in the first few decades of its existence, and went dormant in the 1980s when the government's neoliberal program focused on privatization. It was renamed the Canada Lands Company Limited in 1981. It is mandated by the government to act as its agent for the disposal of such assets,

Mandate

The goal of the corporation as determined by Cabinet since 1995 has been to ensure "the commercially oriented, orderly disposition of surplus properties with optimal value to the Canadian taxpayer".

Work

The CLC treats their holdings as financial assets. They appraise the value of their holdings exclusively from an exchange-value point of view, and recommends property management and redevelopment schemes directly aimed at increasing the land exchange value. In contrast, in UK land disposals, surplus designation is based on the land’s operational value, and exchange value is only considered once it is determined that the land has no value for the government.

Privatization

Heather Whiteside describes the CLC as an "agent of privatization, akin to PPP Canada and the Canada Infrastructure Bank". She says the "CLC provides regulatory-managerial support for privatization by collecting rent to subsidize property development, by commercializing public space, and by financializing public land."

  • Village at Griesbach, Edmonton, Alberta (in development)
  • Currie, Calgary, Alberta (in development)
  • Shannon Park, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
  • Jericho Lands, Vancouver, British Columbia (in partnership with the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations)
  • Heather Street Lands, Vancouver, British Columbia
  • Downsview Redevelopment, Toronto, Ontario (in partnership with Northcrest of PSP Investments, planning started in 2020)

Canada Lands Company's completed major real estate developments include:

  • Les Bassins du Nouveau Havre, Montreal, Quebec
  • Moncton Sportsplex, Moncton, New Brunswick
  • River's Edge, Chilliwack, British Columbia
  • Garrison Woods, Calgary, Alberta
  • Garrison Green, Calgary, Alberta

As part of its joint venture with the Algonquins of Ontario, the CLC is redeveloping the site at 299 Carling Avenue. Canada Lands entered into a Participation Agreement with the Algonquins of Ontario for the redevelopment of the former CFB Rockcliffe in Ottawa, now known as Wateridge Village.

CLC is also participating in the development of Naawi-Oodena, the former Kapyong Barracks in southwest Winnipeg, and the largest urban reserve in Canada.

References

Further reading

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