List of justices of the Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada |
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The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada. It was established by the Parliament of Canada through the Supreme and Exchequer Court Act of 1875.[1] Since 1949, the Court has been the final court of appeal in the Canadian justice system. Originally composed of six justices (the Chief Justice of Canada and five puisne justices), the Court was expanded to seven justices by the creation of an additional puisne justice position in 1927,[2] and then to nine justices by the creation of two more puisne justice positions in 1949.[3]
The justices are appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister. When a chief justice leaves office, the vacancy is traditionally filled by elevating an incumbent puisne justice to the position, which requires a separate appointment process. The first six justices of the Court were all appointed in 1875 by Governor General the Earl of Dufferin, on the advice of Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie.
Of the nine justices, three positions are required by law to be held by judges who are either judges of the superior courts of Quebec, or members of the Bar of Quebec, at the time of their appointment.[4][5] Traditionally, three of the remaining judges are appointed from Ontario, two from the four western provinces, and one from the Atlantic provinces. The judges from these provinces, other than Quebec, must have been a judge of a superior court, or a member of the bar of one of those provinces for ten or more years prior to the appointment.[6]
Justices hold office until age 75, during good behaviour. They are removable by the Governor General on address of the Canadian Senate and House of Commons.[7] When the Court was created in 1875, the justices had life tenure, but in 1927 this was converted to mandatory retirement at age 75.[8] Because the legislation did not contain a grandfather clause it immediately applied to any judge who was already over age 75 at the time it came into force. As a result, Justice John Idington, aged 86, was forced to retire from the Court.
Since the Supreme Court was created in 1875, 90 persons have served on the Court. The length of overall service on the Court for the 81 non-incumbent justices ranges from Sir Lyman Duff's 37 years, 101 days, to the 232-day tenure of John Douglas Armour. The length of service for the 9 incumbent justices ranges from that of Andromache Karakatsanis, 12 years, 307 days to Mary Moreau's 291 days.
Justices
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In the table below, the index numbers in the far left column denote the order in which the justices were appointed as a Supreme Court puisne justice (or, as chief justice where the individual was appointed directly as chief justice). Also, a shaded row— —denotes a current justice. Additionally, while many of the justices' positions prior to appointment are simply listed as "lawyer", many had part-time positions, such as teaching, or acted as counsel to various levels of government. The justices of the Supreme Court are:
Justice | Service dates[9][10] | Service length | Appointed on advice of |
Legal education | Prior position | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Name (lived) |
Province | Overall tenure | Chief justice tenure | Overall tenure | Chief justice tenure | |||
1 | Sir William Buell Richards (1815–1889) |
Ontario | September 30, 1875 – January 10, 1879 |
September 30, 1875 – January 10, 1879 |
3 years, 102 days | 3 years, 102 days | Mackenzie (directly as chief justice) | Articles of clerkship with a senior lawyer (1837) |
Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for Canada West |
2 | William Johnstone Ritchie (1813–1892) |
New Brunswick | September 30, 1875 – September 25, 1892 |
January 11, 1879 – September 25, 1892 |
16 years, 361 days | 13 years, 258 days | Mackenzie (as puisne justice); Macdonald (as chief justice) |
Articles of clerkship with a senior lawyer (1837) |
Chief Justice of New Brunswick |
3 | Samuel Henry Strong (1825–1909) |
Ontario | September 30, 1875 – November 17, 1902 |
December 13, 1892 – November 17, 1902 |
27 years, 48 days | 9 years, 339 days | Mackenzie (as puisne justice); Thompson (as chief justice) |
Articles of clerkship with a senior lawyer (1849) |
Ontario Court of Error & Appeal |
4 | Jean-Thomas Taschereau (1814–1893) |
Quebec | September 30, 1875 – October 6, 1878 |
— | 3 years, 6 days | — | Mackenzie | Articles of clerkship with a senior lawyer; École de droit de Paris (1837) |
Court of Queen's Bench of Quebec |
5 | Télesphore Fournier (1823–1896) |
Quebec | September 30, 1875 – September 11, 1895 |
— | 19 years, 346 days | — | Mackenzie | Articles of clerkship with a senior lawyer (1846) |
Postmaster General |
6 | William Alexander Henry (1816–1888) |
Nova Scotia | September 30, 1875 – May 3, 1888 |
— | 12 years, 216 days | — | Mackenzie | Articles of clerkship with a senior lawyer (1841) |
Lawyer |
7 | Sir Henri-Elzéar Taschereau (1836–1911) |
Quebec | October 7, 1878 – May 1, 1906 |
November 21, 1902 – May 1, 1906 |
27 years, 206 days | 3 years, 161 days | Mackenzie (as puisne justice); Laurier (as chief justice) |
— | Quebec Superior Court |
8 | John Wellington Gwynne (1814–1902) |
Ontario | January 14, 1879 – January 7, 1902 |
— | 22 years, 358 days | — | Macdonald | Articles of clerkship with a senior lawyer (1837) |
Ontario Court of Error & Appeal |
9 | Christopher Salmon Patterson (1823–1893) |
Ontario | October 27, 1888 – July 24, 1893 |
— | 4 years, 270 days | — | Macdonald | — | Ontario Court of Error & Appeal |
10 | Robert Sedgewick (1848–1906) |
Nova Scotia | February 18, 1893 – August 4, 1906 |
— | 13 years, 167 days | — | Thompson | Articles of clerkship with a senior lawyer (1872) |
Deputy Minister of Justice (Federal) |
11 | George Edwin King (1839–1901) |
New Brunswick | September 21, 1893 – May 8, 1901 |
— | 7 years, 229 days | — | Thompson | Articles of clerkship with a senior lawyer (1865) |
Supreme Court of New Brunswick |
12 | Désiré Girouard (1836–1911) |
Quebec | September 28, 1895 – March 22, 1911 |
— | 15 years, 175 days | — | Bowell | McGill Law School (1860) |
Member of Parliament for Jacques Cartier |
13 | Sir Louis Henry Davies (1845–1924) |
Prince Edward Island | September 25, 1901 – May 1, 1924 |
October 23, 1918 – May 1, 1924 |
22 years, 219 days | 5 years, 191 days | Laurier (as puisne justice); Borden (as chief justice) |
Inner Temple, London (1866) |
Member of Parliament for West Queen's |
14 | David Mills (1831–1903) |
Ontario | February 8, 1902 – May 8, 1903 |
— | 1 year, 89 days | — | Laurier | University of Michigan (1867) |
Minister of Justice (Canada) and Leader of the Government in the Senate |
15 | John Douglas Armour (1830–1903) |
Ontario | November 21, 1902 – July 11, 1903 |
— | 232 days | — | Laurier | Articles of clerkship with a senior lawyer (1853) |
Chief Justice of Ontario |
16 | Wallace Nesbitt (1858–1930) |
Ontario | May 16, 1903 – October 3, 1905 |
— | 2 years, 140 days | — | Laurier | Articles of clerkship with a senior lawyer (1881) |
Lawyer |
17 | Albert Clements Killam (1849–1908) |
Manitoba | August 8, 1903 – February 5, 1905 |
— | 1 year, 181 days | — | Laurier | Articles of clerkship with a senior lawyer (1877) |
Chief Justice of Manitoba |
18 | John Idington (1840–1928) |
Ontario | February 10, 1905 – March 30, 1927 |
— | 22 years, 48 days | — | Laurier | University of Toronto (1864) |
High Court of Justice of Ontario |
19 | James Maclennan (1833–1915) |
Ontario | October 5, 1905 – February 12, 1909 |
— | 3 years, 130 days | — | Laurier | Articles of clerkship with a senior lawyer (1857) |
Court of Appeal for Ontario |
20 | Sir Charles Fitzpatrick (1853–1942) |
Quebec | June 4, 1906 – October 20, 1918 |
June 4, 1906 – October 20, 1918 |
12 years, 139 days | 12 years, 139 days | Laurier (directly as chief justice) | Université Laval, Faculté de droit (1876) |
Minister of Justice (Canada) |
21 | Sir Lyman Duff (1865–1955) |
British Columbia | September 27, 1906 – January 6, 1944 |
March 17, 1933 – January 6, 1944 |
37 years, 101 days | 10 years, 295 days | Laurier (as puisne justice); Bennett (as chief justice) |
Osgoode Hall Law School |
Supreme Court of British Columbia |
22 | Francis Alexander Anglin (1865–1933) |
Ontario | February 23, 1909 – February 27, 1933 |
September 16, 1924 – February 27, 1933 |
24 years, 4 days | 8 years, 164 days | Laurier (as puisne justice); King (as chief justice) |
The Law Society of Upper Canada (1888) |
High Court of Justice of Ontario (Exchequer Division) |
23 | Louis-Philippe Brodeur (1862–1924) |
Quebec | August 11, 1911 – October 9, 1923 |
— | 12 years, 59 days | — | Laurier | Université Laval à Montréal, Faculté de droit (1884) |
Minister of the Naval Service |
24 | Pierre-Basile Mignault (1854–1945) |
Quebec | October 25, 1918 – September 30, 1929 |
— | 10 years, 339 days | — | Borden | McGill Law School (1878) |
Member of the International Joint Commission |
25 | Arthur Cyrille Albert Malouin (1857–1936) |
Quebec | January 30, 1924 – September 30, 1924 |
— | 244 days | — | King | Université Laval, Faculté de droit (1882) |
Quebec Superior Court |
26 | Edmund Leslie Newcombe (1859–1931) |
Nova Scotia | September 16, 1924 – December 9, 1931 |
— | 7 years, 84 days | — | King | University of Halifax (1881) |
Deputy Minister of Justice (federal) |
27 | Thibaudeau Rinfret (1879–1962) |
Quebec | October 1, 1924 – June 21, 1954 |
January 8, 1944 – June 21, 1954 |
29 years, 263 days | 10 years, 164 days | King (as puisne justice and later as chief justice) | Université Laval à Montréal and McGill Law School (1900) |
Quebec Superior Court |
28 | John Henderson Lamont (1865–1936) |
Saskatchewan | April 2, 1927 – March 10, 1936 |
— | 8 years, 343 days | — | King | University of Toronto Faculty of Law (1893) |
Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan |
29 | Robert Smith (1858–1942) |
Ontario | May 18, 1927 – December 6, 1933 |
— | 6 years, 202 days | — | King | Articles of clerkship with a senior lawyer (1885) |
Supreme Court of Ontario (Appellate Division) |
30 | Lawrence Arthur Dumoulin Cannon (1877–1939) |
Quebec | January 14, 1930 – December 25, 1939 |
— | 9 years, 345 days | — | King | Université Laval, Faculté de droit (1899) |
Court of King's Bench for Quebec |
31 | Oswald Smith Crocket (1868–1945) |
New Brunswick | September 21, 1932 – April 12, 1943 |
— | 10 years, 203 days | — | Bennett | Articles of clerkship with a senior lawyer (1892) |
Supreme Court of New Brunswick |
32 | Frank Joseph Hughes (1883–1967) |
Ontario | March 17, 1933 – February 12, 1935 |
— | 1 year, 332 days | — | Bennett | Osgoode Hall Law School (Law Society of Upper Canada) (1911) |
Lawyer |
33 | Henry Hague Davis (1885–1944) |
Ontario | January 31, 1935 – June 30, 1944 |
— | 9 years, 151 days | — | Bennett | University of Toronto Faculty of Law (1911) |
Court of Appeal for Ontario |
34 | Patrick Kerwin (1889–1963) |
Ontario | July 20, 1935 – February 2, 1963 |
July 1, 1954 – February 2, 1963 |
27 years, 197 days | 8 years, 216 days | Bennett (as puisne justice); St. Laurent (as chief justice) |
Osgoode Hall Law School (Law Society of Upper Canada) (1911) |
High Court of Justice of Ontario |
35 | Albert Blellock Hudson (1875–1947) |
Manitoba | March 24, 1936 – January 6, 1947 |
— | 10 years, 288 days | — | King | University of Manitoba, Faculty of Law (1898) |
Lawyer |
36 | Robert Taschereau (1896–1970) |
Quebec | February 9, 1940 – August 31, 1967 |
April 22, 1963 – August 31, 1967 |
27 years, 203 days | 4 years, 131 days | King (as puisne justice); Diefenbaker (as chief justice) |
Université Laval, Faculté de droit) (1920) |
Lawyer |
37 | Ivan Cleveland Rand (1884–1969) |
New Brunswick | April 22, 1943 – April 26, 1959 |
— | 16 years, 4 days | — | King | Harvard Law School (1912) |
Lawyer |
38 | Roy Lindsay Kellock (1893–1975) |
Ontario | October 3, 1944 – January 14, 1958 |
— | 13 years, 103 days | — | King | — | Court of Appeal for Ontario |
39 | James Wilfred Estey (1889–1956) |
Saskatchewan | October 6, 1944 – January 22, 1956 |
— | 11 years, 108 days | — | King | Harvard Law School (1915) |
Attorney General of Saskatchewan |
40 | Charles Holland Locke (1887–1980) |
British Columbia | June 3, 1947 – September 15, 1962 |
— | 15 years, 104 days | — | King | Articles of clerkship with a senior lawyer (1910) |
Lawyer |
41 | John Robert Cartwright (1895–1979) |
Ontario | December 22, 1949 – March 22, 1970 |
September 1, 1967 – March 22, 1970 |
20 years, 90 days | 2 years, 202 days | St. Laurent (as puisne justice); Pearson (as chief justice) |
Osgoode Hall Law School (Law Society of Upper Canada) (1920) |
Lawyer |
42 | Joseph Honoré Gérald Fauteux (1900–1980) |
Quebec | December 22, 1949 – December 22, 1973 |
March 23, 1970 – December 22, 1973 |
24 years, 0 days | 3 years, 274 days | St. Laurent (as puisne justice); P. Trudeau (as chief justice) |
Université de Montréal Faculty of Law (1925) |
Quebec Superior Court |
43 | Douglas Charles Abbott (1899–1987) |
Quebec | July 1, 1954 – December 22, 1973 |
— | 19 years, 174 days | — | St. Laurent | McGill Law School | Minister of Finance (federal) |
44 | Henry Grattan Nolan (1893–1957) |
Alberta | March 1, 1956 – July 8, 1957 |
— | 1 year, 129 days | — | St. Laurent | Articles of clerkship with a senior lawyer (English and Alberta bars) |
Lawyer |
45 | Ronald Martland (1909–1997) |
Alberta | January 15, 1958 – February 9, 1982 |
— | 24 years, 25 days | — | Diefenbaker | University of Alberta, University of Oxford (1928, 1931) |
Lawyer |
46 | Wilfred Judson (1902–1980) |
Ontario | February 5, 1958 – July 19, 1977 |
— | 19 years, 164 days | — | Diefenbaker | Osgoode Hall Law School (Law Society of Upper Canada) (1932) |
High Court of Justice of Ontario |
47 | Roland Almon Ritchie (1910–1988) |
Nova Scotia | May 5, 1959 – October 30, 1984 |
— | 25 years, 178 days | — | Diefenbaker | University of Oxford (1932) |
Lawyer |
48 | Emmett Matthew Hall (1898–1995) |
Saskatchewan | November 23, 1962 – February 28, 1973 |
— | 10 years, 97 days | — | Diefenbaker | University of Saskatchewan College of Law (1919) |
Chief Justice of Saskatchewan, Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan |
49 | Wishart Flett Spence (1904–1998) |
Ontario | May 30, 1963 – December 28, 1978 |
— | 15 years, 212 days | — | Pearson | Osgoode Hall Law School (Law Society of Upper Canada) (1928) |
High Court of Justice of Ontario |
50 | Louis-Philippe Pigeon (1905–1986) |
Quebec | September 21, 1967 – February 7, 1980 |
— | 12 years, 139 days | — | Pearson | Université Laval, Faculté de droit (1928) |
Lawyer |
51 | Bora Laskin (1912–1984) |
Ontario | March 19, 1970 – March 26, 1984 |
December 27, 1973 – March 26, 1984 |
14 years, 7 days | 10 years, 90 days | P. Trudeau (as puisne justice and later as chief justice) | University of Toronto (1936) Harvard Law School (1937) Osgoode Hall Law School (Law Society of Upper Canada) (1937) |
Court of Appeal for Ontario |
52 | Robert George Brian Dickson (1916–1998) |
Manitoba | March 26, 1973 – June 29, 1990 |
April 18, 1984 – June 29, 1990 |
17 years, 95 days | 6 years, 72 days | P. Trudeau (as puisne justice and later as chief justice) | University of Manitoba Faculty of Law (1938) |
Manitoba Court of Appeal |
53 | Jean Beetz (1927–1991) |
Quebec | January 1, 1974 – November 9, 1988 |
— | 14 years, 313 days | — | P. Trudeau | Université de Montréal Faculty of Law (1950) Pembroke College, Oxford (1953) |
Quebec Court of Appeal |
54 | Louis-Philippe de Grandpré (1917–2008) |
Quebec | January 1, 1974 – September 30, 1977 |
— | 3 years, 272 days | — | P. Trudeau | McGill University Faculty of Law | President of the Canadian Bar Association |
55 | Willard Zebedee Estey (1919–2002) |
Ontario | September 29, 1977 – April 21, 1988 |
— | 10 years, 205 days | — | P. Trudeau | University of Saskatchewan College of Law | Chief Justice of Ontario |
56 | Yves Pratte (1925–1988) |
Quebec | October 1, 1977 – June 29, 1979 |
— | 1 year, 271 days | — | P. Trudeau | Université Laval (Faculté de droit (Université Laval)) and University of Toronto | Chairman of Air Canada |
57 | William Rogers McIntyre (1918–2009) |
British Columbia | January 1, 1979 – February 14, 1989 |
— | 10 years, 44 days | — | P. Trudeau | University of Saskatchewan | British Columbia Court of Appeal |
58 | Julien Chouinard (1929–1987) |
Quebec | September 24, 1979 – February 6, 1987 |
— | 7 years, 135 days | — | Clark | Université Laval | Quebec Court of Appeal |
59 | Antonio Lamer (1933–2007) |
Quebec | March 28, 1980 – January 6, 2000 |
July 1, 1990 – January 6, 2000 |
19 years, 284 days | 9 years, 189 days | P. Trudeau (as puisne justice); Mulroney (as chief justice) |
Université de Montréal | Quebec Court of Appeal |
60 | Bertha Wilson (1923–2007) |
Ontario | March 4, 1982 – January 3, 1991 |
— | 8 years, 305 days | — | P. Trudeau | Dalhousie Law School | Court of Appeal for Ontario |
61 | Gerald Eric Le Dain (1924–2007) |
Ontario | May 29, 1984 – November 29, 1988 |
— | 4 years, 184 days | — | P. Trudeau | McGill University Faculty of Law | Federal Court of Appeal |
62 | Gérard La Forest (b. 1926) |
New Brunswick | January 16, 1985 – September 29, 1997 |
— | 12 years, 256 days | — | Mulroney | University of New Brunswick Faculty of Law and Yale Law School | New Brunswick Court of Appeal |
63 | Claire L'Heureux-Dubé (b. 1927) |
Quebec | April 15, 1987 – June 30, 2002 |
— | 15 years, 76 days | — | Mulroney | Université Laval (Faculté de droit (Université Laval)) | Quebec Court of Appeal |
64 | John Sopinka (1933–1997) |
Ontario | May 24, 1988 – November 24, 1997 |
— | 9 years, 184 days | — | Mulroney | University of Toronto | Lawyer |
65 | Charles Gonthier (1928–2009) |
Quebec | February 1, 1989 – July 31, 2003 |
— | 14 years, 180 days | — | Mulroney | McGill University Faculty of Law | Quebec Court of Appeal |
66 | Peter Cory (1925–2020) |
Ontario | February 1, 1989 – May 31, 1999 |
— | 10 years, 119 days | — | Mulroney | Osgoode Hall Law School | Court of Appeal for Ontario |
67 | Beverley McLachlin (b. 1943) |
British Columbia | March 30, 1989 – December 14, 2017 |
January 7, 2000 – December 14, 2017 |
28 years, 259 days | 17 years, 341 days | Mulroney (as puisne justice); Chrétien (as chief justice) |
University of Alberta Faculty of Law | Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia |
68 | William Stevenson (1934–2021) |
Alberta | September 17, 1990 – June 4, 1992 |
— | 1 year, 261 days | — | Mulroney | University of Alberta Faculty of Law | Court of Appeal of Alberta Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories |
69 | Frank Iacobucci (b. 1937) |
Ontario | January 7, 1991 – June 30, 2004 |
— | 13 years, 175 days | — | Mulroney | University of British Columbia and Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge | Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Canada |
70 | John C. Major (b. 1931) |
Alberta | November 13, 1992 – December 24, 2005 |
— | 13 years, 41 days | — | Mulroney | University of Toronto | Court of Appeal of Alberta |
71 | Michel Bastarache (b. 1947) |
New Brunswick | September 30, 1997 – June 30, 2008 |
— | 10 years, 274 days | — | Chrétien | University of Ottawa Faculty of Law | New Brunswick Court of Appeal |
72 | William Ian Corneil Binnie (b. 1939) |
Ontario | January 8, 1998 – October 20, 2011 |
— | 13 years, 285 days | — | Chrétien | Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge University of Toronto | Lawyer |
73 | Louise Arbour (b. 1947) |
Ontario | September 15, 1999 – June 30, 2004 |
— | 4 years, 289 days | — | Chrétien | Université de Montréal Faculty of Law University of Ottawa Faculty of Law |
Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda |
74 | Louis LeBel (1939–2023) |
Quebec | January 7, 2000 – November 29, 2014 |
— | 14 years, 326 days | — | Chrétien | Université Laval University of Toronto |
Quebec Court of Appeal |
75 | Marie Deschamps (b. 1952) |
Quebec | August 7, 2002 – August 6, 2012 |
— | 9 years, 365 days | — | Chrétien | Université de Montréal McGill University Faculty of Law |
Quebec Court of Appeal |
76 | Morris J. Fish (b. 1938) |
Quebec | August 5, 2003 – August 30, 2013 |
— | 10 years, 25 days | — | Chrétien | McGill University Faculty of Law | Quebec Court of Appeal |
77 | Rosalie Abella (b. 1946) |
Ontario | August 30, 2004 – July 1, 2021 |
— | 16 years, 304 days | — | Martin | University of Toronto | Court of Appeal for Ontario |
78 | Louise Charron (b. 1951) |
Ontario | August 30, 2004 – August 29, 2011 |
— | 6 years, 364 days | — | Martin | University of Ottawa Faculty of Law | Court of Appeal for Ontario |
79 | Marshall Rothstein (b. 1940) |
Manitoba | March 1, 2006 – August 30, 2015 |
— | 9 years, 182 days | — | Harper | University of Manitoba | Federal Court of Appeal |
80 | Thomas Cromwell (b. 1952) |
Nova Scotia | December 22, 2008 – August 31, 2016 |
— | 7 years, 253 days | — | Harper | Queen's University Faculty of Law University of Oxford |
Nova Scotia Court of Appeal |
81 | Michael J. Moldaver (b. 1947) |
Ontario | October 21, 2011 – August 31, 2022 |
— | 10 years, 314 days | — | Harper | University of Toronto | Court of Appeal for Ontario |
82 | Andromache Karakatsanis (b. 1955)[A] |
Ontario | October 21, 2011 – present |
— | 12 years, 307 days | — | Harper | Osgoode Hall Law School | Court of Appeal for Ontario |
83 | Richard Wagner (b. 1957)[B] |
Quebec | October 5, 2012 – present |
December 18, 2017 – present |
11 years, 323 days | 6 years, 249 days | Harper (as puisne justice); J. Trudeau (as chief justice) |
University of Ottawa Faculty of Law | Quebec Court of Appeal |
84 | Clément Gascon (b. 1960) |
Quebec | Jun 9, 2014 – Sept 15, 2019[11] |
— | 5 years, 98 days | — | Harper | McGill University Faculty of Law | Quebec Court of Appeal |
85 | Suzanne Côté (b. 1958)[C] |
Quebec | December 1, 2014 – present |
— | 9 years, 266 days | — | Harper | Laval University | Lawyer |
86 | Russell Brown (b. 1965) |
Alberta | August 31, 2015 – June 12, 2023[12] |
— | 7 years, 285 days | — | Harper | University of Victoria University of Toronto |
Court of Appeal of Alberta |
87 | Malcolm Rowe (b. 1953)[D] |
Newfoundland and Labrador | October 28, 2016 – present |
— | 7 years, 300 days | — | J. Trudeau | Osgoode Hall Law School | Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador (Court of Appeal) |
88 | Sheilah Martin (b. 1956)[E] |
Alberta | December 18, 2017 – present |
— | 6 years, 249 days | — | J. Trudeau | McGill University Faculty of Law University of Alberta Faculty of Law |
Court of Appeal of Alberta Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories Court of Appeal of Nunavut |
89 | Nicholas Kasirer (b. 1960)[F] |
Quebec | September 16, 2019 – present |
— | 4 years, 342 days | — | J. Trudeau | McGill University Faculty of Law University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne |
Quebec Court of Appeal |
90 | Mahmud Jamal (b. 1967)[G] |
Ontario | July 1, 2021 – present |
— | 3 years, 53 days | — | J. Trudeau | McGill University Faculty of Law Yale Law School |
Ontario Court of Appeal |
91 | Michelle O'Bonsawin (b. 1973 or 1974[13])[H] |
Ontario | September 1, 2022 – present[14] |
— | 1 year, 357 days | — | J. Trudeau | University of Ottawa (Faculty of Law) (LLB & PhD)[14][15] York University (Osgoode Hall) (LLM)[14] |
Ontario Superior Court of Justice |
92 | Mary Moreau (b. 1955 or 1956[16])[I] |
Alberta | November 6, 2023 – present[17] |
— | 291 days | — | J. Trudeau | University of Alberta (Faculty of Law) (LLB)
Université de Sherbrooke (Civil Code of Québec study program) |
Court of King's Bench of Alberta |
Notes
[edit]- ^ Age 68, mandatory retirement date: October 3, 2030
- ^ Age 67, mandatory retirement date: April 2, 2032
- ^ Age 65, mandatory retirement date: September 21, 2033
- ^ Age 64 or 65, mandatory retirement date: during 2028
- ^ Age 68, mandatory retirement date: May 31, 2031
- ^ Age 64, mandatory retirement date: February 20, 2035
- ^ Age 54; mandatory retirement 2042
- ^ Age 49–50;[13] mandatory retirement 2048/2049
- ^ Age 67–68;[16] mandatory retirement 2030/2031
Timeline of justices
[edit]This graphical timeline depicts the progression of the justices on the Supreme Court. Information regarding each justice's predecessors, successors and fellow justices, as well as their tenure on the court can be gleaned (and comparisons between justices drawn) from it. There are no formal names or numbers for the individual seats of the puisne justices.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/timeline/qjmq7tpog9cv4s27qk2bb87jt33gh3b.png)
Justices' birthplaces
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ At least one Supreme Court justice has been born in each of Canada's current 10 provinces; none however, have been born in its current territories (the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon).
- ^ Includes territory previously in the Northwest Territories prior to 1905
- ^ Includes the former colony of Upper Canada, and Canada West in the former Province of Canada
- ^ Includes the former colony of Lower Canada, and Canada East in the former Province of Canada
- ^ Includes all of Ireland as part of the United Kingdom, prior to 1922
Justices' legal backgrounds
[edit]Of the 91 justices who have served on the court, just over half, 49, had previously served on provincial appellate courts, although not all of these were serving in that capacity immediately prior to their appointment (e.g. Beverley McLachlin had served on the British Columbia Court of Appeal before being named Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia; Louise Arbour had served on the Court of Appeal for Ontario before being named Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia). Three served on the appellate division of the Federal Court of Canada: Frank Iacobucci as Chief Justice of the Court, and Gerald Le Dain and Marshall Rothstein as appellate justices.
Twenty-eight justices were named to the Supreme Court directly from the bar without having previously served as judges, including one Chief Justice (Charles Fitzpatrick). Of those, eleven had served or were serving in various federal government capacities, including member of Parliament, cabinet minister, or deputy minister, prior to their appointment. A further 12 served on provincial superior trial courts.
Of the 31 justices appointed since 1980, only three had no prior judicial experience: John Sopinka, Ian Binnie and Suzanne Côté.
References
[edit]- ^ Supreme and Exchequer Court Act, S.C. 1875, c. 11.
- ^ An Act to amend the Supreme Court Act, S.C. 1927, c. 38, s. 1
- ^ An Act to amend the Supreme Court Act, S.C. 1949, c. 37, s.1
- ^ Supreme Court Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. S‑26, s. 6.
- ^ Reference re Supreme Court Act, ss. 5 and 6, 2014 SCC 21.
- ^ Supreme Court Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. S-26, s. 5.
- ^ Supreme Court Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. S-26, s. 9.
- ^ An Act to amend the Supreme Court Act, S.C. 1927, c. 38, s. 2.
- ^ "Current and Former Chief Justices". Ottawa, Ontario: Supreme Court of Canada. January 2001. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
- ^ "Current and Former Judges". Ottawa, Ontario: Supreme Court of Canada. January 2001. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
- ^ Zimonjic, Peter (April 15, 2019). "Supreme Court Justice Clement Gascon announces retirement". CBC News. Canada. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- ^ Tasker, John paul (June 12, 2023). "Russell Brown steps down from Supreme Court after probe launched into misconduct claim". CBC News. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
- ^ a b McLeod, Marsha (August 25, 2022) [first published 2022-08-24]. "Michelle O'Bonsawin on making history as first Indigenous Supreme Court nominee". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on August 28, 2022. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
That means Ms. O'Bonsawin, who is 48, could sit on the court for nearly three decades.
- ^ a b c "The Honourable Michelle O'Bonsawin". Supreme Court of Canada. September 1, 2022. Archived from the original on September 2, 2022. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
Justice O'Bonsawin holds a Bachelor of Arts from Laurentian University, a Bachelor of Law from the University of Ottawa, a Master of Law from Osgoode Hall Law School, and a Doctorate in Law from the University of Ottawa.
- ^ "Nomination of the Honourable Michelle O'Bonsawin, alumna, to the Supreme Court of Canada". University of Ottawa Gazette. August 23, 2022. Archived from the original on September 2, 2022. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
Justice O'Bonsawin also has strong ties to the University of Ottawa, having earned an LL.B. in Common Law in 1998 from the University and a PhD in 2022.
- ^ a b Fine, Sean (November 1, 2023) [first published 2023-11-01]. "'I consider her a fighter': Supreme Court pick Mary Moreau hailed as a voice for minority rights". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
On Thursday, the 67-year-old is to answer questions from a Parliamentary committee.
- ^ "Chief Justice Wagner Welcomes the Appointment of the Honourable Mary T. Moreau". Supreme Court of Canada (Press release). November 6, 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
Bibliography
[edit]- James G. Snell; Frederick Vaughan (1985). The Supreme Court of Canada: History of the Institution. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0802034179.
- Peter McCormick (2000). Supreme at Last: The Evolution of the Supreme Court of Canada. James Lorimer & Company. ISBN 1550286927.
- Donald R. Songer (2008). The Transformation of the Supreme Court of Canada: An Empirical Examination. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0802096890.
External links
[edit]- Supreme Court of Canada homepage