Political and Administrative Organization

JUDICIAL INSTITUTIONS

In the Canadian federation, the administration of justice is shared by two levels of government. While such activity comes, in part, under provincial jurisdiction under the terms of section 92(14) of the Constitution Act, 1867, the federal government plays an active role in the administration of justice through:

  • its power of appointment of judges to the superior courts and appellate courts of federated (i.e., provincial) governments; it also sees to their remuneration. In comparison with the federal systems of other OECD Member States, particularly the United States and Australia, the Canadian federal government's prerogative of appointing the superior and appellate court justices of federated entities has no equivalent; 
  •  the administration of federal courts:
    • the Tax Court of Canada (a specialized court of law whose authority covers several federal laws);
    • the Federal Court;
    • the Federal Court of Appeal.
  • the administration of the Supreme Court of Canada and the appoint of justices to this court : traditionally, three of the nine justices hail from Quebec, three from Ontario, two from the West, and one from the Atlantic provinces.

In addition, Canada is home to two legal systems, namely, common law (of British origin) and civil law (of French origin). How these systems are applied depends on the persons involved and the place where the legal transaction originates. In the sphere of public law, which concerns the organization of government and its relations with persons, common law applies in all federal and provincial jurisdictions. Under this system, the rules of law are created by statutes or by judicial decisions where such statutes are absent or silent. In the sphere of private law, which concerns persons and their relations with one another, the sources of law vary depending on whether one is in Quebec or elsewhere in Canada. In Quebec, civil law, modelled after the French system, constitutes the main basis of the Civil Code of Québec. In the other provinces and territories of Canada, common law is the system of reference in matters of private law.

 

Number of judges on the bench, provinces, as of July 1st, 2012

 

Provinces 

NFL

PEI

NS

NB

QC

ON

MB

SK

AB

BC

Provincial court justices

23

3

38

33

299

327

41

50

126

150

Appellate court justices

9*

3**

8

9

26

26

9

11

18

23

Superior court justices

26

5**

33

21

191

276

27

41

76

104

Sources: Office of the Commissioner of Federal Judicial Affairs (2012), Number of federal judges on the bench in Canada as of July 1st, 2012, http://www.fja-cmf.gc.ca/appointments-nominations/judges-juges-eng.html and Websites of provincial courts. * The Court of Appeal is encompassed within the province's Supreme Court. **The province's Supreme Court in fact has two divisions, the Trial Division and the Appeal Division.



According to the Canadian Judicial Council, every province has a provincial court. The authority of provincial courts is determined by provincial laws and certain federal laws. Thus, for example, provincial courts hear cases about most criminal offences and some family matters. The judges in provincial and territorial courts are appointed and paid by the provincial or territorial government.

On matters over which provincial courts do not have legal jurisdiction, cases are brought before superior courts. They also hear appeals from rulings handed down by provincial courts. The exact name of these courts varies from one province to another i.e., "Court of Queen's Bench" in Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan, "Supreme Court" in British Columbia and Nova Scotia, "Superior Court of Justice" in Ontario, and "Superior Court" in Quebec. Appeals from rulings handed down by a province's superior court are made before provincial courts of appeal, the highest courts of any province.