Editorial note: This story treats the Instagram Reel as a public-interest prompt, not as proof of every political claim made in the Reel. Predictions about future party policy are framed as opinion rather than established fact.
A viral Instagram Reel is drawing renewed attention to a long-running question in British Columbia: who should be allowed to buy large amounts of agricultural land, and whether the province’s existing farmland rules are strong enough to protect rural communities.
The Reel, posted by Michael Delaney of Quiet Canines, asks why American billionaires are “quietly buying up British Columbia’s farmland” while local farmers and ranchers struggle to compete. The post names Stan Kroenke, owner of the Los Angeles Rams and Arsenal Football Club, as well as Mark Walter and Robert “Bobby” Patton Jr., two U.S. businessmen connected in previous reporting to land purchases in the Robson Valley.
The Reel is opinionated, but several of the underlying issues it raises are supported by public reporting and government material.
Kroenke owns the Douglas Lake Cattle Company, described by CBC as Canada’s largest working ranch. The ranch has been at the centre of a long court battle over public access to Minnie Lake and Stoney Lake near Merritt. In 2018, a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled in favour of public access, but that decision was later overturned by the B.C. Court of Appeal. In 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear a further appeal, leaving the Court of Appeal decision in place.
That case became a symbol for critics who argue that public lakes and public resources can become practically inaccessible when surrounded by private land.
In the Robson Valley, Country Life in BC reported in April 2026 that Fraser River Landholdings Ltd. had purchased approximately 3,850 acres around Dunster, much of it agricultural land. The publication reported that the company is co-directed by Mark Walter and Robert Patton Jr. Local residents quoted in that reporting said the purchases were contributing to population decline and making it harder for new farming families to move into the area.
The same article also included a response from a local representative involved with the land purchases, who disputed the idea that buyers were being pushed out and said the properties had been on the market. He also said agricultural activity continues on the land and that the owners are breaking no laws.
That last point is central to the policy debate. B.C. has the Agricultural Land Reserve and the Agricultural Land Commission, which regulate how agricultural land may be used. But B.C. does not generally restrict farmland ownership by foreign buyers or corporations in the same way some other provinces do.
A Union of B.C. Municipalities resolution on foreign ownership of agricultural lands notes the province’s position that B.C. protects farmland “for agricultural use through the Agricultural Land Commission Act and the Agricultural Land Reserve, rather than through controlling ownership.”
By contrast, Saskatchewan’s government says individuals who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents, and entities owned or controlled by non-Canadians, are generally not eligible to own Saskatchewan farmland unless they receive an exemption to acquire more than 10 acres. Quebec also has legislation dealing with acquisition of farmland by non-residents, and recent Quebec reforms have been cited by B.C. farmland advocates as a possible model.
The issue is not strictly partisan. B.C. Green voices have called for stronger protections against speculative and absentee farmland ownership. Country Life in BC also quoted B.C. Conservative MLAs expressing concern about young Canadian farmers being priced out and calling for more oversight of agricultural land purchases. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham told Country Life in BC that the province is committed to protecting farmland and supporting farming in the ALR.
The viral Reel frames the issue as a warning about American billionaires and political inaction. A more cautious reading is that B.C. already protects agricultural land use, but has not created a Saskatchewan-style or Quebec-style system focused on who may own farmland.
For rural communities, the question is becoming more urgent: if land remains technically agricultural but is increasingly owned by absentee investors, private recreation interests or ultra-wealthy buyers, does the ALR still serve the people it was meant to protect?
That is the policy debate now resurfacing online — and one likely to grow as land prices, food security and rural access become larger political issues in British Columbia.
Source notes
- Instagram Reel by Quiet Canines
- Quiet Canines Substack article
- CBC: Douglas Lake access litigation
- Castanet: Supreme Court of Canada declined Douglas Lake appeal
- Country Life in BC: Foreign land buyers hollow out Dunster
- Saskatchewan farm ownership rules
- UBCM: Foreign Ownership of Agricultural Lands