Chief Justice of Canada
| Chief Justice of Canada | |
|---|---|
| Supreme Court of Canada Office of the Chief Justice Judiciary of Canada (Queen-on-the-Bench) | |
| Style | The Right Honourable Madam/Mister Chief Justice |
| Status | Chief justice, head of a court system Deputy Governor General 4th in Canadian order of precedence |
| Member of | Supreme Court Canadian Judicial Council (Ex-officio chairman) Order of Canada advisory council (chairman) |
| Seat | Supreme Court Building, Ottawa, Ontario |
| Nominator | Cabinet |
| Appointer | Governor General of Canada |
| Term length | No set term, though retirement is mandatory at age 75 |
| Constituting instrument | Supreme Court Act |
| Inaugural holder | Sir William Buell Richards |
| Formation | September 30, 1875 |
| Salary | $413,500 (as of April 2018)[1] |
| Website | Supreme Court |
The Chief Justice of Canada (French: Juge en Chef du Canada) is the presiding judge of the nine-member Supreme Court of Canada, the highest judicial body in Canada.
List of chief justices
[change | change source]Since the Supreme Court was established in 1875, the following 18 persons have served as Chief Justice:[2]
| Name (Province) |
Order and term[A] | Length of term | Appointed on advice of |
Date of birth | Date of death | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Buell Richards (Ontario) |
1st | September 30, 1875 – January 10, 1879 |
3 years, 102 days | Mackenzie | May 2, 1815 | January 26, 1889 |
| William Johnstone Ritchie (New Brunswick) |
2nd | January 11, 1879 – September 25, 1892 |
13 years, 258 days | Macdonald | October 28, 1813 | September 25, 1892[B] |
| Samuel Henry Strong (Ontario) |
3rd | December 13, 1892 – November 17, 1902 |
9 years, 339 days | Thompson | August 13, 1825 | August 31, 1909 |
| Henri Elzéar Taschereau (Quebec) |
4th | November 21, 1902 – May 1, 1906 |
3 years, 161 days | Laurier | October 7, 1836 | April 14, 1911 |
| Charles Fitzpatrick[C] (Quebec) |
5th | June 4, 1906 – October 20, 1918 |
12 years, 138 days | Laurier | December 19, 1851 | June 17, 1942 |
| Louis Henry Davies (Prince Edward Island) |
6th | October 23, 1918 – May 1, 1924 |
5 years, 191 days | Borden | May 4, 1845 | May 1, 1924[B] |
| Francis Alexander Anglin (Ontario) |
7th | September 16, 1924 – February 27, 1933 |
8 years, 164 days | King | April 2, 1865 | March 2, 1933 |
| Lyman Duff (British Columbia) |
8th | March 17, 1933 – January 6, 1944[D] |
10 years, 295 days | Bennett | January 7, 1865 | April 26, 1955 |
| Thibaudeau Rinfret (Quebec) |
9th | January 8, 1944 – June 21, 1954 |
10 years, 164 days | King | June 22, 1879 | July 25, 1962 |
| Patrick Kerwin (Ontario) |
10th | July 1, 1954 – February 2, 1963 |
8 years, 216 days | St. Laurent | October 25, 1889 | February 2, 1963[B] |
| Robert Taschereau (Quebec) |
11th | April 22, 1963 – August 31, 1967[E] |
4 years, 131 days | Pearson | September 10, 1896 | July 26, 1970 |
| John Robert Cartwright (Ontario) |
12th | September 1, 1967 – March 22, 1970 |
2 years, 202 days | Pearson | March 23, 1895 | November 24, 1979 |
| Gérald Fauteux (Quebec) |
13th | March 23, 1970 – December 22, 1973 |
3 years, 274 days | P. Trudeau | October 22, 1900 | September 14, 1980 |
| Bora Laskin (Ontario) |
14th | December 27, 1973 – March 26, 1984 |
10 years, 90 days | P. Trudeau | October 5, 1912 | March 26, 1984[B] |
| Brian Dickson (Manitoba) |
15th | April 18, 1984 – June 29, 1990 |
6 years, 72 days | P. Trudeau | May 25, 1916 | October 17, 1998 |
| Antonio Lamer (Quebec) |
16th | July 1, 1990 – January 6, 2000 |
9 years, 189 days | Mulroney | July 8, 1933 | November 24, 2007 |
| Beverley McLachlin (British Columbia) |
17th | January 7, 2000 – December 14, 2017[F] |
17 years, 341 days | Chrétien | September 7, 1943 | (living) |
| Richard Wagner (Quebec) |
18th | December 18, 2017 – Incumbent |
7 years, 76 days[G] | J. Trudeau | April 2, 1957 | (living) |
Notes
[change | change source]- ↑ The start date listed for each chief justice is the day he or she took the judicial oath of office, and the end date is the date of the justice's death, resignation, or retirement.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Died in office
- ↑ Appointed directly from the Cabinet, and never served as puisne justice; only time the chief justiceship has been filled from outside the judiciary.[3]
- ↑ Assumed vice regal duties as Administrator of Canada February 11 – June 21, 1940, following the death in office of Governor General Lord Tweedsmuir.
- ↑ Assumed vice regal duties as Administrator of Canada March 5 – April 17, 1967, following the death in office of Governor General Georges Vanier.
- ↑ Assumed vice regal duties as Administrator of Canada in July 2005 when Governor General Adrienne Clarkson underwent surgery.[4]
- ↑ As of March 4, 2025
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "Guide for Candidates". Ottawa, Ontario: Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs. 19 October 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
- ↑ "Current and Former Chief Justices". Ottawa, Ontario: Supreme Court of Canada. January 2001. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
- ↑ Snell, James G.; Vaughan, Frederick (1985). The Supreme Court of Canada: History of the Institution. Osgoode Hall, Toronto, Ontario: Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History. p. 90. ISBN 0-8020-3417-9. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
- ↑ Everett, Jason K. (Summer 2016). "Beverly McLachlin, Canada: Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Canada". International Judicial Monitor. Washington, D.C.: International Judicial Academy of the International Law Institute. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
