Constructive Expropriation

In the Supreme Court of Canada decision of Annapolis Group Inc. v Halifax Regional Municipality, 2022 SCC 36 [Annapolis], the Court clarified the test for a "constructive expropriation". A constructive expropriation occurs when a governmental authority acquires a "beneficial interest" in land. In Annapolis, "beneficial interest" was clarified to mean the acquisition of an "advantage", where state action has removed all reasonable uses of the property. Constructive expropriations occur within the regulatory context where the effect of a bylaw, regulation, or other enactment produces these results. Annapolis was widely seen as loosening the test for a constructive expropriation by characterizing the acquisition of a beneficial interest broadly as "any advantage," raising fears among municipalities and other government actors that the lines would be blurred between the permissible regulation of land and constructive takings.