In 1988, Saskatoon hosted the milestone ceremony and agreement that created Asimakaniseekan Askiy, the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation urban reserve recognized as Canada’s first commercial urban reserve. The event marked a groundbreaking partnership between Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, the City of Saskatoon and the federal government, and it became a model for later urban reserve development.
Urban reserves help tell an important story about our City, Treaty relationships and shared growth. In simple terms, an urban reserve is land within the boundaries of a city that a First Nation buys on the open market, which then goes through a process with the federal government that may result in reserve status being granted. Just owning the land does not make it a reserve.
Urban reserves create real benefits for everyone. For First Nations, they can open the door to new businesses, more jobs and greater financial independence for the growing number of First Nation people living off their home reserve. For Saskatoon, urban reserves can bring new investment, help renew existing properties and support economic growth. Urban reserves are also a concrete way to honour Treaty relationships and support reconciliation.
People are often surprised that an urban reserve does not look different from other city properties. It could be a hotel, school, bank, gas station, business park, or residential subdivision. In other words, it fits into the city around it. If you’ve filled up your car, drank a Starbucks or visited a medical clinic in Saskatoon, you may have been on an urban reserve and not even known it.
Saskatoon currently has several urban reserves, eight as of 2026. There are also several urban land holdings that are still working on federal status. An urban holding is land that has been purchased by a First Nation but not yet granted reserve status and as such, remains under City jurisdiction. This land is the same as any other land in the City.
When land becomes an urban reserve, the First Nation then has jurisdiction and authority over the land, rather than the City. This does not mean that City services or payment for City services are not provided. Through a Municipal Services and Land Use Compatibility Agreement as well as a Police Services Agreement, the City and the First Nation work together and agree on bylaw and land use compatibility and payment to the City for all services provided, in the same way taxes pay for those services for non-reserve properties in the City. The fee-for-City service matches what would have been paid in municipal and library property taxes, and in return the City provides services such as fire protection, policing, snow removal and infrastructure repairs. The same or similar building and fire standards, public health and safety, and business regulations that exist on non-reserve properties apply to urban reserve properties through the Agreement. This may mean that the City provides regulatory services such as building inspections and business licensing to ensure that what’s built on reserve is compatible with the rest of the community and vice versa. The intent is that there is a seamless transition between urban reserve land and non-reserve land, achieved through compatibility.
At its heart, the urban reserve model is about respect, partnership and opportunity. It helps First Nations build for the future while helping cities grow in a more inclusive way. In Saskatoon, urban reserves are not only pieces of land. They are part of building a stronger community together.
Photo caption: City Council hosted a special signing ceremony on Thursday, May 1, 2025, to honour the relationship between Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation and the City and to celebrate what will be the newest urban reserve in Saskatoon.
