Chairman of the Supreme Court of Canada

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The President of the Supreme Court of Canada is the Chief Justice of Canada (English) or Juge en chef du Canada (French). He is appointed by the Governor General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. Like the other nine judges, he must either have served in a higher court in the provinces before his appointment or have been a member of a bar association for at least ten years . The acting chairman since December 18, 2017, has been Richard Wagner , who has been a member of the Supreme Court since 2012.

tasks

The Chief Justice presides over the Canadian Judicial Council, which is composed of the chairmen and vice chairmen of all higher courts at the provincial and federal levels. This council organizes seminars, coordinates discussions on current legal issues and conducts investigations into all federal judges on behalf of the Minister of Justice or the Attorney General of a province.

Should the governor general die, no longer be able to exercise his office or stay abroad for more than a month, the chief justice - or, if there is a vacancy, the oldest of the other judges - temporarily takes over the office of administrator of Canada and exercises all the rights and duties of a governor general out. This situation has happened twice so far. In 2005, a special situation arose when Beverley McLachlin had to represent Governor General Adrienne Clarkson , as the latter had to undergo heart surgery.

In addition, the Chief Justice is a member of the advisory body that decides on the bestowal of the Order of Canada , the highest civil order in the country. However, he abstains from withdrawing his vote, as this step is usually only necessary for persons who have been convicted of a criminal offense by a lower court and who would have a conflict of interest in the event of a complaint to the Supreme Court of the Chief Justice.

List of chairmen

Surname Term of office province Promoted by
William Buell Richards September 30, 1875 - January 10, 1879 Ontario -
William Johnstone Ritchie January 11, 1879 - September 25, 1892 New Brunswick John Macdonald
Samuel Henry Strong December 13, 1892 - November 18, 1902 Ontario John Thompson
Henri-Elzéar Taschereau November 21, 1902 - May 2, 1906 Quebec Wilfrid Laurier
Charles Fitzpatrick June 4, 1906 - November 21, 1918 Quebec Wilfrid Laurier
Louis Henry Davies November 23, 1918 - May 1, 1924 Prince Edward Island Robert Borden
Francis Alexander Anglin September 16, 1924 - February 28, 1933 Ontario William Lyon Mackenzie King
Lyman Poore Duff March 17, 1933 - January 2, 1944 British Columbia Richard Bedford Bennett
Thibaudeau Rinfret January 8, 1944 - June 22, 1954 Quebec William Lyon Mackenzie King
Patrick Kerwin July 1, 1954 - February 2, 1963 Ontario Louis Saint-Laurent
Robert Taschereau April 22, 1963 - September 1, 1967 Quebec Lester Pearson
John Robert Cartwright September 1, 1967 - March 23, 1970 Ontario Lester Pearson
Gérald Fauteux March 23, 1970 - December 23, 1973 Quebec Pierre Trudeau
Bora Laskin December 27, 1973 - March 26, 1984 Ontario Pierre Trudeau
Brian Dickson April 18, 1984 - June 30, 1990 Manitoba Pierre Trudeau
Antonio Lamer July 1, 1990 - January 6, 2000 Quebec Brian Mulroney
Beverley McLachlin January 7, 2000 - December 14, 2017 British Columbia Jean Chrétien
Richard Wagner December 18, 2017 - Quebec Justin Trudeau

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b Richards and Fitzpatrick were never simple judges ( puisne justice, juge puîné ) of the Supreme Court before their appointment as chairman . All others served as simple judges for some time and were then mostly (but not always) appointed according to their seniority.
  2. ↑ a b Duff and Taschereau took over his office for a short time after the death or resignation of the governor general.

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