Supreme Court of Canada

DESCRIPTION: Canada’s highest court, sanctioned by Section 101 of the Constitution Act of 1867, functions as a final general court of appeal, the last judicial resort for all litigants, both individuals and governments.

SIGNIFICANCE: The Supreme Court of Canada adopted some aspects of the US Supreme Court and also borrowed from the British model to fit Canada’s bilingual and dual common-civil law system.

In 1875, using the authority granted by the Constitution Act of 1867, members of Parliament passed the Supreme Court Act, creating the Supreme Court of Canada. Because of Canada’s proximity to the United States and the US Supreme Court’s nearly one hundred years of experience, the Supreme Court of Canada adopted some of the features of its American counterpart. In addition, because of Canada’s British common law tradition and the presence of a French-speaking majority population in Quebec (which followed French civil law practice), the Canadian court borrowed from the British model but adapted it to fit a bilingual and dual common-civil law system. As a result, the Supreme Court of Canada is similar to the US and British courts of last resort but has some distinctly different characteristics. In 2025, the Supreme Court of Canada marked its 150th anniversary with commemorative events and public outreach activities across the country.

Jurisdiction and Powers

The Supreme Court of Canada was not always the court of final resort. Until 1933, its decisions in criminal matters were appealed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London for final judgment, and until 1949, its judgments in civil matters were ultimately subject to rulings by the Privy Council.

The Supreme Court of Canada’s ultimate role is to shape Canadian law in the interest of the entire country. The court achieves this by fulfilling two distinct yet interrelated functions. As an appeals court, it provides litigants with a forum to argue for a review of previous judicial decisions, especially when it can be demonstrated that a trial judge in a lower court made a legal error. In this capacity, the court is an adjudicator. The court also evaluates public policies enacted by governments and gives them the force of law; in this capacity, it acts as a policymaker. In deciding an appeal, the court moves from applying and interpreting the law to shaping its development through precedent. Like the Law Lords in Great Britain, Canada’s Supreme Court has ultimate judicial control of the nation’s laws, including the Canadian Charter of Rights. Like the US Supreme Court, the Canadian Court exercises authority over the behavior of the legislature and administrative bodies. Therefore, the Supreme Court of Canada can remarkably influence the development of Canadian law.

Cases usually come before the court only if leave, or permission, is granted. To obtain leave, a party asks that the court hear the case and applies to the court, usually in writing, although an oral leave hearing can be held when requested by the court. Leave is given by the court if the case involves a question of public interest, raises an important issue of law or mixed fact and law, or is judged to be of major significance for any other reason. However, in criminal matters, an appeal may be brought automatically if a judge has dissented on a point of law at the lower provincial or territorial court of appeal. The Supreme Court of Canada, in 2024, heard 526 applications for leave to appeal and granted 35 leave applications, and heard 39 appeals.

Unlike its counterparts in the United States and Great Britain, the Supreme Court of Canada can determine legal doctrines in abstract, somewhat controversial political matters where the law is in doubt, known as reference. According to Section 53 of the Supreme Court Act, the federal government may refer to the court and ask for consideration of important questions such as the interpretation of the Canadian constitution, the constitutionality of a particular law, or the division of power between the federal and provincial levels of government. This ability to resolve troublesome legal and constitutional questions referred to the court by the federal government, without the existence of a pertinent case, is a power the US Supreme Court does not possess.

Appointment to the Court

The Supreme Court of Canada initially had six justices: one chief justice and five “puisne justices”. With the abolition of appeal to the Privy Council in London in 1949, the number rose to nine. Pursuant to the Supreme Court Act, three justices must come from Quebec (to acknowledge the status of the French-based civil law system practiced there). Tradition and historical regional attitudes dictate that three justices come from Ontario, two from the West, and one from Atlantic Canada.

After receiving advice from the minister of justice and consulting with the cabinet (which includes an independent and non-partisan Advisory Board that identifies qualified, functionally bilingual candidates), the prime minister of Canada decides who to appoint to the court. Typically, the minister of justice consults with senior judges, provincial attorneys general, representatives of law societies and bar associations, and other well-informed individuals in the region from which the candidate is to be chosen. The only legal qualification required of a Supreme Court appointee is that the candidate must have at least ten years of practice in one of Canada’s ten provinces. The main criteria for selection are merit and the person’s being of the highest standing in the legal community. There are no public confirmation hearings for nominees to the court as in the United States. After selection, justices may serve until age seventy-five. This process has provided Canada with a strong and independent judiciary.

Current Court

In the 2020s, the Supreme Court of Canada comprised five men and four women: Richard Wagner, Andromache Karakatsanis, Suzanne Côté, Malcolm Rowe, Sheilah L. Martin, Nicholas Kasirer, Mahmud Jamal, Mary T. Moreau, and Michelle O’Bonsawin. After being nominated a puisne justice in October 2012, Wagner was appointed Chief Justice of Canada on December 18, 2017. Rosalie Silberman Abella, who retired in 2021, was the longest-serving jurist in Canadian history, being appointed in 2004. She was replaced by Jamal, who became the first person of color nominated to Canada’s Supreme Court. Justice Michelle O’Bonsawin, appointed in 2022, became the first Indigenous justice to serve on the Court, representing a significant step forward in judicial diversity. In March 2026, the federal government opened a new appointment process to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Sheilah L. Martin.

In 2025, the Court began translating selected significant pre-1970 decisions as part of its efforts to make its history more accessible in both official languages.

Bibliography

Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada. Supreme Court of Canada Appointment Process – 2026. Government of Canada, 30 Mar. 2026, fja.gc.ca/scc-csc/2026/index-eng.html. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.

Snell, James G., and Frederick Vaughan. The Supreme Court of Canada: History of the Institution. U of Toronto P, 1985.

Supreme Court of Canada. “History.” Supreme Court of Canada, www.scc-csc.ca/visit-visitez/history-histoire. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.

Supreme Court of Canada. “Judges.” Supreme Court of Canada, www.scc-csc.ca/about-apropos/judges-juges. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.

Supreme Court of Canada. “The Judicial Structure.” About Canada’s System of Justice, 2021, www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/just/07.html. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.

Supreme Court of Canada. “150 Years of the Supreme Court of Canada.” Supreme Court of Canada, www.scc-csc.ca/150/index_eng.html. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.

Supreme Court of Canada. 2024 Year in Review. Supreme Court of Canada, 2025, scc-csc.gc.ca/about-apropos/work-travail/review-retro/2024/. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.

Weiler, Paul. In the Last Resort. Carswell, 1974.