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The Law of the Land: The Advent of the Torrens System in Canada
2008 
by Greg Taylor, Professor, Faculty of Law, Monash University, Australia. Published with the University of Toronto Press, 2008.
The Torrens system of land titles registration was introduced to what is now British Columbia in the mid-nineteenth century, and later spread to the rest of western Canada and to Ontario. In telling the story of the various receptions of the system, this book explains why it was considered such an improvement on the previous method of land registration, and why in addition it took so long for the reform to win public acceptance in some provinces. This is a fascinating account of interest groups and the reform of Canadian private law, one that demonstrates how the different histories of the various parts of Canada have shaped, and continue to shape, their law.
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Contents
Contents
Foreword vii
Preface ix
1 The Torrens System: An Outline 3
The Spread of the Torrens System 3
The Need for Reform 5
The Torrens System 9
2 The Invention of the Torrens System 18
Man and Idea 18
A Thousand Fathers 27
3 Vancouver Island: The Second Torrens Jurisdiction in the World 31
Background 31
Establishing the Australian Link 35
Was It Really the Torrens System? 42
Public Response to the Torrens System 49
4 British Columbia 57
The Mainland Colony 57
The Ordinance of 1870 60
5 The Canada Land Law Amendment Association 68
Pre-History of the Association: Torrens Becomes Known in Central
Canada 68
Personalities 70
Beginnings 73
The Association Puts Torrens on the Public Agenda 78
The Association: A Front for Loan Sharks? 86
Later History of the Association 93
6 Ontario 95
English or Australian Model? 95
Introduction of the Torrens Principle 97
Slow Beginnings 101
Gradual Extension and Conquest of Ontario 106
Some Concluding Thoughts 111
7 Saskatchewan, Alberta, and the North-West Territories 115
Historical Background 115
Introduction of the Torrens System 116
Trouble in Paradise I: Early Problems with the Torrens System 122
Trouble in Paradise II: The Registrar at Calgary 126
The Torrens System in Saskatchewan and Alberta after 1905 129
8 Manitoba 131
The Mission of June 1883 131
The Manitoba Land Law Amendment Association 136
Success 140
Failure? 144
Success! 149
9 Quebec, the Maritimes, and Newfoundland and Labrador 155
10 Concluding Remarks 162
Appendix 169
Notes 171
Index 215
Reviews
Dr. Taylor ... has done an admirable job in making the story of Torrens in Canada come to life in an authoritative ... exploration of the subject.... Dr Taylor describes the drivers behind the adoption of the particular brand of Torrens in each of the provinces or regions. It is an engaging review that showcases the author's attention to detail and gift for tying salient facts together. Mark Coffin, Dalhousie Law Journal, vol 31, 2008
Taylor's work is a positive addition to the area of property law in Canada. It outlines how Torrens came to be and the current status of land titles in Canadian jurisdictions. The Law of the Land will primarily interest scholars of legal history and property law, [and] legal practitioners.... Indeed anyone working with land titles in a Torrens system should find this publication useful .... To illustrate this book's impact, our library's copy quickly circulated to four people since it arrived, two of whom had to recall the book! Nadine Hoffman, Canadian Law Library Review, vol 34, 2009, p. 197
Marie-Ann Bowden, Alberta Law Review, vol 47, 2010, p. 1051.
Sarah H. Gordon, The Historian, vol 72, 2010, p. 993.
Douglas C. Harris, UBC Law Review, vol 43, 2010, p. 259
