Much of the land in the province was owned by absentee landlords .
The objective of the statute was to force the landlords to sell their estates to the provincial government , which would in turn sell the land at lower prices to local farmers .
Much of the land in the province was owned by absentee landlords , and the objective of the statute was to force the landlords to sell their estates to the provincial government , which would in turn sell the land at lower prices to local farmers .