What Is the Role of the Supreme Court of Canada?

# What Is the Role of the Supreme Court of Canada?

The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court in the country. Its decisions shape everything from criminal law to Indigenous rights to the meaning of the Charter. The citizenship test reliably asks about it. Here is everything you need to know for test day and beyond.

The Supreme Court of Canada is the final court of appeal in Canada. It has 9 judges. Its decisions:

• Are binding on all other Canadian courts.
• Cannot be appealed anywhere else (no court above it).
• Set legal precedents that lower courts must follow.

It sits in Ottawa, in an art-deco building across from Parliament Hill.

The Supreme Court has 9 judges, including the Chief Justice of Canada. By long tradition (and by statute for Quebec), the regional balance is:

• 3 judges from Quebec — required by the Supreme Court Act because Quebec uses civil law (based on the Civil Code), while the rest of Canada uses common law (English-style).
• 3 from Ontario
• 2 from the West/North (BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, or the Territories)
• 1 from the Atlantic provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI, Newfoundland and Labrador)

Judges are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister. They serve until age 75 (mandatory retirement). Since 2016, an independent advisory board reviews candidates before the PM makes a recommendation.

The Supreme Court has three main jobs:

1. Hears appeals

Most cases reach the Court only after passing through:

1. A trial court (provincial or federal).
2. A provincial Court of Appeal or the Federal Court of Appeal.
3. A "leave to appeal" application — the Supreme Court agrees to hear the case (it picks ~80 of ~600 leave applications per year).

For some serious criminal cases (e.g. acquittals overturned by a Court of Appeal), the appeal goes to the Supreme Court automatically.

2. Interprets the Constitution and the Charter

The Court is the final word on:

• Charter rights — does a law violate freedom of expression? Equality rights?
• Federal–provincial powers — which level of government has authority over an issue?
• Indigenous rights — section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.
• Fundamental constitutional principles — federalism, democracy, rule of law, minority rights.

If the Court finds a law violates the Constitution, the law is struck down — Parliament must rewrite it or invoke the notwithstanding clause (rare).

3. Answers reference questions

The federal government can ask the Court for an advisory opinion on a major legal question — for example, "Is same-sex marriage legalisation constitutional?" or "Could Quebec unilaterally separate from Canada?". The Court's answers are not technically binding but always followed.

Some Supreme Court decisions every Canadian should know:

• R v Morgentaler (1988) — struck down Canada's abortion law as a Charter violation.
• R v Oakes (1986) — set the test for whether a Charter limit is justified ("the Oakes test").
• Reference re Secession of Quebec (1998) — laid out the rules for any province trying to leave Canada.
• Carter v Canada (2015) — recognised the right to medically assisted death.
• R v Jordan (2016) — set strict deadlines for criminal trials to prevent delay.

The Chief Justice of Canada leads the Court and is one of the most important officials in Canada. Notably, the Chief Justice administers the oath of office to the Governor General when one is sworn in. The current Chief Justice is Richard Wagner (since 2017).

Common citizenship-test questions on the Supreme Court:

• What is the highest court in Canada? *(The Supreme Court of Canada)*
• How many judges sit on the Supreme Court? *(9)*
• What does the Supreme Court do? *(Final court of appeal; interprets the Constitution and Charter)*
• Where is the Supreme Court located? *(Ottawa)*

For wider context, see [The Canadian Justice System Explained](/blog/canadian-justice-system-explained) and [The Three Branches of Government in Canada](/blog/three-branches-government-canada).

Try our [free practice test](/practice-test) — it covers the Supreme Court in the same format you will see on test day.