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Parks Canada Eligible Residency Requirements

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In order to live in Banff, you need to work in Banff. It’s a Parks Canada regulation to make sure housing is available to the people who work in the community, so it isn’t used as vacation properties or second homes.

Parks Canada rules: Parks Canada’s Eligible Residency Requirements

According to the National Parks Lease and License of Occupation Regulations an eligible resident is defined as:

(a) an individual whose primary employment is in the park,

(b) an individual who operates a business in the park and whose presence at the place of business is necessary for the day-to-day operation of the business,

(c) a retired individual who resides in the park and who, for five consecutive years immediately prior to retirement,

(i) was employed primarily in that park, or

(ii) operated a business in that park and whose presence at the place of business was necessary for the day-to-day operation of the business,

(d) a retired individual who resided in the park at the time of the individual’s retirement and who resided in that park on July 30, 1981,

(e) an individual who is a student in full-time attendance at an educational institution that is located within the park and registered under the Income Tax Act or applicable provincial legislation relating to education,

(f) an individual who is a lessee of public lands in the park and who

(i) was the lessee of those public lands prior to May 19, 1911, or

(ii) is a descendant, by blood or adoption, of an individual who was the lessee of those public lands prior to May 19, 1911, or

(g) the spouse or common-law partner or a dependent of an individual referred to in any of paragraphs (a) to (f).

Enforcement of “need to reside”

Eligible residency will be enforced by Parks Canada to ensure that those living in the community have an established need to reside here. Enforcement is accomplished by:

  • requiring statutory declarations from all lessees at time of mortgage or sale
  • requiring statutory declarations on demand from all lessees, based upon complaints or investigations
  • requesting lessees to complete statutory declarations on behalf of their tenants
  • It is a criminal offense to make a false statutory declaration of eligible residency.

Questions or complaints:

Acknowledgement

In the spirit of truth and reconciliation, we honour and acknowledge that we live, work, and play on Treaty 7 lands – the traditional territories of the Iyârhe Nakoda Nations (Chiniki, Bearspaw, Goodstoney), the Blackfoot Confederacy (Siksika, Kainai, Piikani), the Tsuut’ina Nation, the Ktunaxa, Secwépemc, Dene, Mountain Cree and Métis Nation of Alberta District 4 within the Battle River Territory.

We are grateful to those whose territory we reside on and acknowledge the many First Nations and Métis who have lived and cared for these lands for generations.