The Invention of Advantage: Annapolis Group v. Halifax Regional Municipality and Canadian De Facto Expropriation Law

Abstract

This essay, through exploring the evolution of de facto expropriation in Canada, argues that the Supreme Court of Canada has recently “reformulated” the test for de facto expropriation by inaccurately representing what its own prior cases stated. The Supreme Court asserted that no more than an “advantage” has to be acquired by the state, not an interest in property. After analyzing the Supreme Court’s prior precedents, the article contrasts them with what the Supreme Court said they stood for in its most recent case, Annapolis Group v. Halifax Regional Municipality.