Court of Appeal for Ontario

Court of Appeal for Ontario Cour d'appel de l'Ontario (French)
Established	1867
Country	Ontario, Canada
Location	Osgoode Hall, Toronto
Authorized by	Ontario Courts of Justice Act
Number of positions	23 (plus supernumeraries)
Website	[1]
Chief Justice
Currently	George Strathy

The Court of Appeal for Ontario (frequently referred to as Ontario Court of Appeal or OCA) is headquartered in downtown Toronto, in historic Osgoode Hall.

The Court is composed of 23 judges who 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; in a very practical sense, the Court of Appeal is the last avenue of appeal for most litigants in Canada's most populous province. Among the Court of Appeal's most notable decisions was a 2003 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in Ontario, 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 Bertha Wilson. Justice Bertha Wilson was the first female justice on both the Ontario Court of Appeal (1975) and the Supreme Court of Canada (1982).

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

Current Justices

An OCA courtroom at Osgoode Hall. Over the dais is the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom, which until 1931 was the Royal Arms for general purposes throughout the British Empire. The Statute of Westminster, 1931 effectively elevated the Royal Arms of Canada to the position of the Queen's Royal Arms for general purposes across Canada, which is why the Canadian Coat of Arms are now used by the court to represent the Canadian Crown.

Position	Name	Appointed	Nominated by	Position Prior to Appointment*
Chief Justice	George Strathy	13 June 2014 26 April 2013	Harper	Ontario Court of Appeal Superior Court of Justice
Associate Chief Justice	Alexandra Hoy	7 June 2013 2 December 2011	Harper	Ontario Court of Appeal Superior Court of Justice
Justice	Mary Lou Benotto	8 November 2013	Harper	Superior Court of Justice
Justice	David Brown	16 December 2014	Harper	Superior Court of Justice
Justice	Eleanore A. Cronk	31 July 2001	Chrétien	Lawyer at Lax O'Sullivan Cronk LLP
Justice	David H. Doherty	1 September 1990	Mulroney	Superior Court of Justice
Justice	Kathryn N. Feldman	11 June 1998	Chrétien	Superior Court of Justice
Justice	Eileen E. Gillese	5 January 2002	Chrétien	Superior Court of Justice
Justice	C. William Hourigan	2 October 2013	Harper	Superior Court of Justice
Justice	Grant Huscroft	16 December 2014	Harper	Professor, Western Law School
Justice	John I. Laskin	27 January 1994	Chrétien	Lawyer at Davies Ward & Beck LLP
Justice	Peter Lauwers	14 December 2012	Harper	Superior Court of Justice
Justice	James C. MacPherson	25 May 1999	Chrétien	Superior Court of Justice
Justice	Bradley Miller	26 June 2015	Harper	Superior Court of Justice
Justice	Gladys Pardu	8 November 2013	Harper	Superior Court of Justice
Justice	Sarah Pepall	10 April 2012	Harper	Superior Court of Justice
Justice	Lois Roberts	5 May 2015	Harper	Superior Court of Justice
Justice	Paul Rouleau	15 April 2005	Martin	Superior Court of Justice
Justice	Janet M. Simmons	23 August 2000	Chrétien	Superior Court of Justice
Justice	Michael Tulloch	30 June 2012	Harper	Superior Court of Justice
Justice	Katherine van Rensburg	2 October 2013	Harper	Superior Court of Justice
Justice	David Watt	12 October 2007	Harper	Superior Court of Justice
Supernumerary Justice	Robert A. Blair	5 November 2003	Chrétien	Superior Court of Justice
Supernumerary Justice	Gloria J. Epstein	12 October 2007	Harper	Superior Court of Justice
Supernumerary Justice	Russell G. Juriansz	12 March 2004	Martin	Superior Court of Justice
Supernumerary Justice	Harry S. Laforme	19 November 2004	Martin	Superior Court of Justice
Supernumerary Justice	Jean L. MacFarland	19 November 2004	Martin	Superior Court of Justice
Supernumerary Justice	Robert J. Sharpe	25 May 1999	Chrétien	Superior Court of Justice
Supernumerary Justice	Karen M. Weiler	12 March 1992	Mulroney	Superior Court of Justice

Chief Justices of Ontario

Number	Name	Years
21	George R. Strathy	2014-
20	Warren K. Winkler	2007-2013
19	R. Roy McMurtry	1996-2007
18	Charles Leonard Dubin	1990-1996
17	William Goldwin Carrington Howland	1977-1990
16	Willard Zebedee Estey	1976-1977
15	George Alexander Gale	1967-1976
14	Dana Harris Porter	1958-1967
13	John Wellington Pickup	1952-1957
12	Robert Spelman Robertson	1938-1952
11	Newton Wesley Rowell	1936-1938
10	William Mulock	1923-1936
9	William Ralph Meredith	1912-1923
8	Charles Moss	1902-1912
7	John Douglas Armour	1900-1902
6	George William Burton	1897-1900
5	John Hawkins Hagarty	1884-1897
4	John Godfrey Spragge	1881-1884
3	Thomas Moss	1878-1881
2	Robert Alexander Harrison	1875-1878
1	William Buell Richards	1868-1875

Past Justices

• Marc Rosenberg (1995-2015)
• Stephen Goudge (1996-2014)
• Warren Winkler, Chief Justice (2007-2013)
• Dennis O'Connor (1998-2012)
• Michael Moldaver (1995–2011)
• Andromache Karakatsanis (2010–2011)
• Marvin A. Catzman (1988–2007)
• Roy McMurtry as Chief Justice (1996–2007)
• Louise Charron (1995–2004)
• Rosalie Abella (1992–2004)
• Louise Arbour (1990–1999)
• Charles Dubin (1973–1996), Chief Justice (1992-1996)
• William Goldwin Carrington Howland Chief Justice (1977-1992)
• Walter Tarnopolsky (1985–1993)
• Peter Cory (1981–1989)
• Bert MacKinnon, Associate Chief Justice (1974-1987)
• Bertha Wilson (1975–1982)
• Goldwyn Arthur Martin (1973–1988)
• Bora Laskin (1965–1970)
• Jean-Marc Labrosse (1990–2007)
• Roy Kellock (1942–1944)
• Henry Hague Davis (1933–1935)
• Newton Wesley Rowell as Chief Justice (1936–1937)
• Sir William Mulock as Chief Justice (1923–1936)
• John Douglas Armour (1887–1890) 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)
• J. S. Spragge

Chief Justice of Upper Canada (to 1841)/Province of Canada (1841-1867)

Number	Name	Years
1	William Osgoode	1794–1801
2	John Elmsley, Sr.	1801
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

• Supreme Court of Canada

External links

• Court of Appeal for Ontario official site
• Plan to webcast Ontario appeal cases delayed