Can a municipality regulate parking on private property?

What the Law Says

Municipalities in Canada are creatures of statute — they only have the powers granted to them by provincial legislation. No province gives municipalities inherent authority over private property; any power to regulate parking on private land must be expressly conferred.

The Supreme Court of Canada confirmed in Westmount (City) v. Rossy that municipalities do not possess inherent jurisdiction over private property — including parking on it — unless clearly authorized by provincial law.

In Quebec, the Cities and Towns Act governs municipal powers. Even there, the Court held that parking restrictions on private property exceed municipal authority unless the statute specifically permits it.

Other provinces follow the same constitutional principle: municipalities are statutory bodies with delegated, not plenary, powers. Provincial statutes like Ontario’s Municipal Act or British Columbia’s Local Government Act do not authorize regulation of parking on purely private land.

What Courts Have Said

The Supreme Court of Canada has directly addressed whether municipalities may restrict parking on private property — and held they generally cannot.

What to Do

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