List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada
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]
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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]
Since the Supreme Court was created in 1875, 88 persons have served on the Court. The length of overall service on the Court for the 79 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 nine incumbent justices ranges from Rosalie Abella's 15 years, 346 days[upper-alpha 1] to Sheilah Martin's 2 years, 236 days.[upper-alpha 1] Justices hold office during good behaviour (which formerly meant life tenure), but are removable by the Governor General on address of the Canadian Senate and House of Commons. Since 1927, justices may sit on the bench until they reach the mandatory retirement age of 75.[7][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.
Justices
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 | Sep 30, 1875 – Jan 10, 1879 |
Sep 30, 1875 – Jan 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 | Sep 30, 1875 – Sep 25, 1892 |
Jan 11, 1879 – Sep 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 | Sep 30, 1875 – Nov 17, 1902 |
Dec 13, 1892 – Nov 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 | Sep 30, 1875 – Oct 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 | Sep 30, 1875 – Sep 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 | Sep 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 | Oct 7, 1878 – May 1, 1906 |
Nov 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 | Jan 14, 1879 – Jan 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 | Oct 27, 1888 – Jul 24, 1893 |
4 years, 270 days | Macdonald | Ontario Court of Error & Appeal | |||
10 | Robert Sedgewick (1848–1906) |
Nova Scotia | Feb 18, 1893 – Aug 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 | Sep 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 | Sep 28, 1895 – Mar 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 | Sep 25, 1901 – May 1, 1924 |
Oct 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 | Feb 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 | Nov 21, 1902 – Jul 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 – Oct 3, 1905 |
2 years, 140 days | Laurier | Articles of clerkship with a senior lawyer (1881) |
Lawyer | ||
17 | Albert Clements Killam (1849–1908) |
Manitoba | Aug 8, 1903 – Feb 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 | Feb 10, 1905 – Mar 30, 1927 |
22 years, 48 days | Laurier | University of Toronto (1864) |
High Court of Justice of Ontario | ||
19 | James Maclennan (1833–1915) |
Ontario | Oct 5, 1905 – Feb 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 | Jun 4, 1906 – Oct 20, 1918 |
Jun 4, 1906 – Oct 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 | Sep 27, 1906 – Jan 6, 1944 |
Mar 17, 1933 – Jan 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 | Feb 23, 1909 – Feb 27, 1933 |
Sep 16, 1924 – Feb 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 | Aug 11, 1911 – Oct 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 | Oct 25, 1918 – Sep 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 | Jan 30, 1924 – Sep 30, 1924 |
244 days | King | Université Laval, Faculté de droit (1882) |
Quebec Superior Court | ||
26 | Edmund Leslie Newcombe (1859–1931) |
Nova Scotia | Sep 16, 1924 – Dec 9, 1931 |
7 years, 84 days | King | University of Halifax (1881) |
Deputy Minister of Justice (federal) | ||
27 | Thibaudeau Rinfret (1879–1962) |
Quebec | Oct 1, 1924 – Jun 21, 1954 |
Jan 8, 1944 – Jun 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 | Apr 2, 1927 – Mar 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 – Dec 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 | Jan 14, 1930 – Dec 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 | Sep 21, 1932 – Apr 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 | Mar 17, 1933 – Feb 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 | Jan 31, 1935 – Jun 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 | Jul 20, 1935 – Feb 2, 1963 |
Jul 1, 1954 – Feb 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 | Mar 24, 1936 – Jan 6, 1947 |
10 years, 288 days | King | University of Manitoba, Faculty of Law (1898) |
Lawyer | ||
36 | Robert Taschereau (1896–1970) |
Quebec | Feb 9, 1940 – Aug 31, 1967 |
Apr 22, 1963 – Aug 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 | Apr 22, 1943 – Apr 26, 1959 |
16 years, 4 days | King | Harvard Law School (1912) |
Lawyer | ||
38 | Roy Lindsay Kellock (1893–1975) |
Ontario | Oct 3, 1944 – Jan 14, 1958 |
13 years, 103 days | King | Court of Appeal for Ontario | |||
39 | James Wilfred Estey (1889–1956) |
Saskatchewan | Oct 6, 1944 – Jan 22, 1956 |
11 years, 108 days | King | Harvard Law School (1915) |
Attorney General of Saskatchewan | ||
40 | Charles Holland Locke (1887–1980) |
British Columbia | Jun 3, 1947 – Sep 15, 1962 |
15 years, 104 days | King | Articles of clerkship with a senior lawyer (1910) |
Lawyer | ||
41 | John Robert Cartwright (1895–1979) |
Ontario | Dec 22, 1949 – Mar 22, 1970 |
Sep 1, 1967 – Mar 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 | Dec 22, 1949 – Dec 22, 1973 |
Mar 23, 1970 – Dec 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 | Jul 1, 1954 – Dec 22, 1973 |
19 years, 174 days | St. Laurent | McGill Law School | Minister of Finance (federal) | ||
44 | Henry Grattan Nolan (1893–1957) |
Alberta | Mar 1, 1956 – Jul 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 | Jan 15, 1958 – Feb 9, 1982 |
24 years, 25 days | Diefenbaker | University of Alberta, University of Oxford (1928, 1931) |
Lawyer | ||
46 | Wilfred Judson (1902–1980) |
Ontario | Feb 5, 1958 – Jul 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 – Oct 30, 1984 |
25 years, 178 days | Diefenbaker | University of Oxford (1932) |
Lawyer | ||
48 | Emmett Matthew Hall (1898–1995) |
Saskatchewan | Nov 23, 1962 – Feb 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 – Dec 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 | Sep 21, 1967 – Feb 7, 1980 |
12 years, 139 days | Pearson | Université Laval, Faculté de droit (1928) |
Lawyer | ||
51 | Bora Laskin (1912–1984) |
Ontario | Mar 19, 1970 – Mar 26, 1984 |
Dec 27, 1973 – Mar 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 | Mar 26, 1973 – Jun 29, 1990 |
Apr 18, 1984 – Jun 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 | Jan 1, 1974 – Nov 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 | Jan 1, 1974 – Sep 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 | Sep 29, 1977 – Apr 21, 1988 |
10 years, 205 days | P. Trudeau | University of Saskatchewan College of Law | Chief Justice of Ontario | ||
56 | Yves Pratte (1925–1988) |
Quebec | Oct 1, 1977 – Jun 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 | Jan 1, 1979 – Feb 14, 1989 |
10 years, 44 days | P. Trudeau | University of Saskatchewan | British Columbia Court of Appeal | ||
58 | Julien Chouinard (1929–1987) |
Quebec | Sep 24, 1979 – Feb 6, 1987 |
7 years, 135 days | Clark | Université Laval | Quebec Court of Appeal | ||
59 | Antonio Lamer (1933–2007) |
Quebec | Mar 28, 1980 – Jan 6, 2000 |
Jul 1, 1990 – Jan 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 | Mar 4, 1982 – Jan 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 – Nov 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 | Jan 16, 1985 – Sep 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 | Apr 15, 1987 – Jun 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 – Nov 24, 1997 |
9 years, 184 days | Mulroney | University of Toronto | Lawyer | ||
65 | Charles Gonthier (1928–2009) |
Quebec | Feb 1, 1989 – Jul 31, 2003 |
14 years, 180 days | Mulroney | McGill University Faculty of Law | Quebec Court of Appeal | ||
66 | Peter Cory (1925–2020) |
Ontario | Feb 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 | Mar 30, 1989 – Dec 14, 2017 |
Jan 7, 2000 – Dec 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 (b. 1934) |
Alberta | Sep 17, 1990 – Jun 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 | Jan 7, 1991 – Jun 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 | Nov 13, 1992 – Dec 24, 2005 |
13 years, 41 days | Mulroney | University of Toronto | Court of Appeal of Alberta | ||
71 | Michel Bastarache (b. 1947) |
New Brunswick | Sep 30, 1997 – Jun 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 | Jan 8, 1998 – Oct 20, 2011 |
13 years, 285 days | Chrétien | Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge University of Toronto | Lawyer | ||
73 | Louise Arbour (b. 1947) |
Ontario | Sep 15, 1999 – Jun 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 (b. 1939) |
Quebec | Jan 7, 2000 – Nov 29, 2014 |
14 years, 326 days | Chrétien | Université Laval University of Toronto |
Quebec Court of Appeal | ||
75 | Marie Deschamps (b. 1952) |
Quebec | Aug 7, 2002 – Aug 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 | Aug 5, 2003 – Aug 30, 2013 |
10 years, 25 days | Chrétien | McGill University Faculty of Law | Quebec Court of Appeal | ||
77 | Rosalie Abella (b. 1946)[upper-alpha 2] |
Ontario | Aug 30, 2004 – present |
15 years, 346 days[upper-alpha 1] | Martin | University of Toronto | Court of Appeal for Ontario | ||
78 | Louise Charron (b. 1951) |
Ontario | Aug 30, 2004 – Aug 29, 2011 |
6 years, 364 days | Martin | University of Ottawa Faculty of Law | Court of Appeal for Ontario | ||
79 | Marshall Rothstein (b. 1940) |
Manitoba | Mar 1, 2006 – Aug 30, 2015 |
9 years, 182 days | Harper | University of Manitoba | Federal Court of Appeal | ||
80 | Thomas Cromwell (b. 1952) |
Nova Scotia | Dec 22, 2008 – Aug 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. 1948)[upper-alpha 3] |
Ontario | Oct 21, 2011 – present |
8 years, 294 days[upper-alpha 1] | Harper | University of Toronto | Court of Appeal for Ontario | ||
82 | Andromache Karakatsanis (b. 1955)[upper-alpha 4] |
Ontario | Oct 21, 2011 – present |
8 years, 294 days[upper-alpha 1] | Harper | Osgoode Hall Law School | Court of Appeal for Ontario | ||
83 | Richard Wagner (b. 1957)[upper-alpha 5] |
Quebec | Oct 5, 2012 – present |
Dec 18, 2017 – present |
7 years, 310 days[upper-alpha 1] | 2 years, 236 days[upper-alpha 1] | 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)[upper-alpha 6] |
Quebec | Dec 1, 2014 – present |
5 years, 253 days[upper-alpha 1] | Harper | Laval University | Lawyer | ||
86 | Russell Brown (b. 1965)[upper-alpha 7] |
Alberta | Aug 31, 2015 – present |
4 years, 345 days[upper-alpha 1] | Harper | University of Victoria University of Toronto |
Court of Appeal of Alberta | ||
87 | Malcolm Rowe (b. 1953)[upper-alpha 8] |
Newfoundland and Labrador | Oct 28, 2016 – present |
3 years, 287 days[upper-alpha 1] | J. Trudeau | Osgoode Hall Law School | Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador (Court of Appeal) | ||
88 | Sheilah Martin (b. 1956)[upper-alpha 9] |
Alberta | Dec 18, 2017 – present |
2 years, 236 days[upper-alpha 1] | 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)[upper-alpha 10] |
Quebec | Sept 16, 2019 – present |
329 days[upper-alpha 1] | J. Trudeau | McGill University Faculty of Law University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne |
Quebec Court of Appeal |
Notes
- As of August 10, 2020
- Age 74, mandatory retirement date: July 1, 2021
- Age 72, mandatory retirement date: December 23, 2022
- Age 64, mandatory retirement date: October 3, 2030
- Age 63, mandatory retirement date: April 2, 2032
- Age 61, mandatory retirement date: September 21, 2033
- Age 54, mandatory retirement date: September 15, 2040
- Age 64 or 65, mandatory retirement date: during 2028
- Age 64, mandatory retirement date: May 31, 2031
- Age 60, mandatory retirement date: February 20, 2035
Timeline of justices
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, which are listed in the table below simply by number.
Justices' birthplaces
Notes
- 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
Of the 89 justices to have served on the court, just over half, 48, 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 eleven served on provincial superior trial courts.
Of the 30 justices appointed since 1980, only three had no prior judicial experience: John Sopinka, Ian Binnie and Suzanne Côté.
References
- 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.
- An Act to amend the Supreme Court Act, S.C. 1927, c. 38, s. 2.
- Supreme Court Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. S-26, s. 9.
- "Current and Former Chief Justices". Ottawa, Ontario: Supreme Court of Canada. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
- "Current and Former Judges". Ottawa, Ontario: Supreme Court of Canada. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
- Zimonjic, Peter (April 15, 2019). "Supreme Court Justice Clement Gascon announces retirement". CBC News. Canada. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
Bibliography
- 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 0802096891.
External links
- Supreme Court of Canada homepage