The Court of Appeal for Ontario (frequently mistakenly referred to as the Ontario Court of Appeal) (ONCA is the abbreviation for its neutral citation) is the appellate court for the province of Ontario, Canada. The seat of the court is Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto (also the seat of the Law Society of Ontario and the Divisional Court of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice).

Description , the court is composed of 22 judicial seats, in addition to 5 justices who currently sit supernumerary. They hear over 1,500 appeals each year, on issues of private law, constitutional law, criminal law, administrative law and other matters. The Supreme Court of Canada hears appeals from less than 3% of the decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, therefore in a practical sense, the Court of Appeal is the last avenue of appeal for most litigants in Ontario.

Among the Court of Appeal's most notable decisions was the 2003 ruling in Halpern v Canada (AG) that found defining marriage as between one man and one woman to violate Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, legalizing same-sex marriage in Ontario and making Canada the first jurisdiction in the world where same-sex marriage was legalized by a court ruling. Among many judges from the Court who have been elevated to the Supreme Court of Canada are Justices Rosalie Abella, Louise Arbour, Peter Cory, Louise Charron, Andromache Karakatsanis, Bora Laskin, Michael Moldaver, and Mahmud Jamal, as well as Bertha Wilson, who was the first female justice on both the Court of Appeal for Ontario (1975) and the Supreme Court of Canada (1982).

The Court of Appeal derives its jurisdiction from Ontario's Courts of Justice Act.

Current judges

Position Name Appointed Nominated byPosition(s) Prior to Appointment*Chief JusticeMichael Tulloch (as chief)HarperJ. TrudeauSuperior Court of Justice (2003 to 2012) Private practice Associate Chief JusticeJ. Michal FairburnJ. TrudeauSuperior Court of Justice (December 16, 2014 to July 18, 2017) Stockwoods Ontario Crown Law Office JusticeJill CopelandJ. TrudeauSuperior Court of Justice (2017 to 2022) Ontario Court of Justice (2014 to 2017) JusticeSteve A. CorozaJ. TrudeauSuperior Court of Justice (2013 to 2020) Ontario Court of Justice (2009 to 2013) JusticeJonathan DaweJ. TrudeauSuperior Court of Justice (2018 to 2023) Justice Jonathon George J. Trudeau Superior Court of Justice (2016 to 2021) Ontario Court of Justice (2012 to 2016) Justice Lise Favreau J. Trudeau Superior Court of Justice (2017 to 2021)Justice Sally GomeryJ. TrudeauSuperior Court of Justice (2017 to 2023) JusticeGrant HuscroftHarperProfessor, Western Law School (2002 to 2014) University of Auckland (1992 to 2001) Justice Lene Madsen J. TrudeauSuperior Court of Justice (2016 to 2024) JusticeBradley W. MillerHarperSuperior Court of Justice JusticePatrick MonahanJ. TrudeauSuperior Court of Justice (2017 to 2023) JusticePeter OsborneM. CarneySuperior Court of Justice (2022 to 2025)JusticeDavid M. PacioccoJ. TrudeauOntario Court of JusticeProfessor at University of Ottawa and Counsel at Edelson Clifford D'AngeloJusticeRenee PomeranceJ. TrudeauSuperior Court of Justice (2006 to 2024)JusticeMohammed RahmanJ. TrudeauSuperior Court of Justice (2022 to 2025) Ontario Court of Justice (2016 to 2022) JusticeLois RobertsHarperSuperior Court of Justice (2008 to 2015) Genest Murray LLP (1988 to 2008) Cassels Brock (1987 to 1988)JusticeLorne SossinJ. TrudeauSuperior Court of Justice (2018 to 2020) Dean, Osgoode Hall Law School (2010 to 2018)JusticeJulie Thorburn J. TrudeauSuperior Court of Justice (2006 to 2019)JusticeGary T. TrotterJ. TrudeauSuperior Court of Justice (2008 to 2016)Ontario Court of Justice (2005 to 2008) Professor at Queen's University (2003 to 2016) Ontario Crown Counsel (1988 to 2000) Justice Darla Wilson J. Trudeau Superior Court of Justice (2007 to 2024) JusticeBenjamin Zarnett J. TrudeauGoodmans LLP

Supernumerary Justices Position Name Appointed Nominated byPosition(s) Prior to Appointment* Supernumerary JusticeEileen E. GilleseChrétienSuperior Court of Justice (1999 to 2002) Supernumerary Justice Peter LauwersHarperSuperior Court of Justice (2008 to 2012) Miller Thompson LLP Supernumerary JusticePaul RouleauMartinSuperior Court of Justice (2002 to 2005) Heenan Blaikie Supernumerary JusticeJanet M. SimmonsChrétienSuperior Court of Justice Supernumerary JusticeKatherine van RensburgHarperSuperior Court of Justice (2006 to 2013)Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP

Chief Justices of Ontario Number Name Years 1Sir William Buell Richards1868–1875 2Robert Alexander Harrison1875–1878 3Thomas Moss 1878–1881 4John Godfrey Spragge 1881–1884 5Sir John Hawkins Hagarty 1884–1897 6Sir George William Burton 1897–1900 7John Douglas Armour 1900–1902 8Sir Charles Moss 1902–1912 9Sir William Ralph Meredith 1912–1923 10Sir William Mulock1923–1936 11Newton Rowell 1936–1938 12Robert Spelman Robertson 1938–1952 13John Wellington Pickup 1952–1957 14Dana Porter 1958–1967 15George Alexander Gale 1967–1976 16Willard Estey 1976–1977 17William Goldwin Carrington Howland 1977–1990 18Charles Dubin 1990–1996 19Roy McMurtry 1996–2007 20Warren Winkler 2007–2013 21George Strathy2014–2022 22Michael Tulloch2022–present

Past judges

Name Time in office Nominated byMarc Rosenberg1995–2015 Jean Chretien Stephen Goudge1996–2014 Jean ChretienEdward W. Ducharme 2012 - 2013 Stephen Harper Warren Winkler, Chief Justice 2007–2013 Dennis O'Connor 1998–2012 Jean Chretien Michael Moldaver 1995–2011 Jean Chretien Andromache Karakatsanis 2010–2011 Marvin A. Catzman 1988–2007 Roy McMurtry 1996–2007 as Chief Justice Louise Charron 1995–2004 Jean ChretienRobert P. Armstrong2002–2013 Rosalie Abella1992–2004 Louise Arbour1990–1999 Charles Dubin 1973–1996 (1992–1996 as Chief Justice) William Goldwin Carrington Howland as Chief Justice 1977–1992 Walter Tarnopolsky1985–1993 Peter Cory1981–1989 Bert MacKinnon 1974–1987 as Associate Chief Justice Bertha Wilson1975–1982 Goldwyn Arthur Martin1973–1988 Bora Laskin1965–1970 Jean-Marc Labrosse 1990–2007 Roy Kellock1942–1944 Henry Hague Davis1933–1935 Newton Rowell as Chief Justice 1936–1937 Sir William Mulock as Chief Justice 1923–1936 John Douglas Armour1887–1890 (as Chief Justice) (1901–1902) John Hawkins Hagarty as Chief Justice 1884–1897 Thomas Moss as Chief Justice 1878–1880 Robert Alexander Harrison as Chief Justice 1875–1878

Chief Justices of Upper Canada (1792–1841)/Province of Canada (1841–1867) Number Name Years 1 William Osgoode 1792–1794 2 John Elmsley 1796–1802 3 Henry Allcock 1802–1806 4 Thomas Scott 1806–1816 5 William Dummer Powell 1816–1825 6 Sir William Campbell 1825–1829 7 Sir John Beverley Robinson 1829–1862 8 William Henry Draper 1863–1867

See also Courts of Ontario Supreme Court of Canada

Notes

References

External links Court of Appeal for Ontario Ontario Courts website Plan to webcast Ontario appeal cases delayed