Procedures
Provincial rules of civil procedure, with proportionality and summary judgment
Each province has its own rules of court: Ontario's Rules of Civil Procedure, British Columbia's Supreme Court Civil Rules, and in Quebec the Code of Civil Procedure recodified in 2016. All now open with a proportionality principle directing that steps be proportionate to what is at stake, and Quebec's code goes further by requiring parties to consider private dispute resolution before filing.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Provincial superior courts have inherent jurisdiction; the Federal Court hears defined federal subject matter
- Deadline — Ontario basic limitation period: two years from discovery, with a 15-year ultimate bar
- Deadline — Statement of defence: 20 days after service within Ontario
- Deadline — Appeal to the Court of Appeal: 30 days from the order
- Deadline — Application for leave to the Supreme Court of Canada: 60 days
Governing law
- Rules of Civil Procedure (Ontario), RRO 1990, Reg 194
- Code of Civil Procedure (Quebec), CQLR c. C-25.01
- Supreme Court Civil Rules (British Columbia), BC Reg 168/2009
- Limitations Act 2002 (Ontario), SO 2002, c. 24
In practice
Hryniak v Mauldin recast summary judgment as a proportionate alternative to trial rather than a last resort, and it is now the main route by which Canadian civil claims are resolved on the merits without a hearing. Costs normally follow the event on a partial-indemnity scale, which is a material deterrent absent from American practice, and the Supreme Court of Canada hears most cases only with leave granted on public importance.