Musqueam and feds make deal to share Vancouver airport lease revenue

Musqueam Indian Band Chief Wayne Sparrow listens during the opening ceremony at the International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC5), in Vancouver, on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

The Musqueam Indian Band has signed an agreement with the federal government to share ground lease revenue from the Vancouver International Airport.

Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Gary Anandasangaree says the specifics of the agreement are being kept confidential but it’s the first revenue-sharing deal involving major federal government infrastructure.

Chief Wayne Sparrow says in a statement that the deal is an incremental measure that “will undoubtedly provide significant and real benefits to our community over the years to come.”

Vancouver International Airport, located on Musqueam traditional territory, operates under a long-term ground lease with the federal government that is paid by the Vancouver Airport Authority based on a portion of its revenue.

The authority’s 2023 financial statements list the cost of the ground lease at $69 million.

Anandasangaree says the revenue-sharing agreement is part of a broader rights-recognition agreement that is being worked on with the Musqueam.

“When there’s an asset that is such an overwhelming presence, and that has a steady source of revenue for the federal government, it is only fair, and it’s only appropriate, that there is an agreement that enables those whose traditional territory that this is situated (on) to be able to share in that revenue,” he said.

“I think it’s a very basic principle, but a principle that we haven’t often understood or even implemented.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 24, 2025.

Ashley Joannou, The Canadian Press