The Supreme Court of Canada has declined to hear an appeal of a lower-court ruling that upheld a First Nation's ownership of a stretch of land at a popular Ontario beach after a lengthy dispute.
Canada's top court has dismissed the appeal request from several landowners, the Town of South Bruce Peninsula and the province after a stretch of land along Sauble Beach was returned to Saugeen First Nation in 2023.
The Supreme Court did not provide a reason for its decision, which is customary.
Saugeen First Nation said in a statement that it is "both proud and grateful" to celebrate the "historic vindication" of its treaty rights.
“Generations of Saugeen people have fought tirelessly against all odds to protect and preserve this deeply important area at the heart of our traditional territory,” Saugeen Chief Conrad Ritchie said.
Ritchie added that the First Nation is "disappointed" the case had to go this far, and they are hoping it sets a precedent for better relations between Indigenous groups and the Crown in the future.
The top court's appeal request dismissal comes nearly two months after members of Saugeen First Nation changed the iconic "Welcome to Sauble Beach" sign that greeted beach visitors.
The temporary "Welcome to Saugeen Beach" sign was erected in the early morning hours of Canada Day to reflect the First Nation's ownership of the land, a move Saugeen First Nation councillors had been planning for a couple of months.
In the days following the sign change, some beachgoers expressed surprise and dismay, and the town's mayor said he was disappointed that he wasn't alerted of the change.
South Bruce Peninsula Mayor Jay Kirkland declined to comment Thursday on the Supreme Court's dismissal of the appeal request.
The Ontario Court of Appeal upheld last December the decision that 2.2 kilometres of the coastline in South Bruce Peninsula was incorrectly surveyed 170 years ago and formed part of Saugeen First Nation's reserve.
When the provincial land surveyor was going over boundaries of the reserve in 1855, he encountered an inward curve of Lake Huron's coastline that he could not run a straight line through on dry land, resulting in a reduction of land that has been long disputed, according to documents filed in Ontario Superior Court in 2023.
The portion of the land is valuable fishing ground for the First Nation community and was surrendered in 1854 in an agreement with the Crown known as Treaty 72 to give up portions of Bruce Peninsula.
Saugeen First Nation said the legal proceedings in the case have so far "only dealt with the ownership of the land, and not any issues relating to compensation for any parties."
"A second trial may be scheduled to address compensation issues if those issues are not first resolved out of court," it said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 28, 2025.
Vanessa Tiberio, The Canadian Press
