What are provincial superior courts?

Provincial superior courts are the general-jurisdiction trial and appellate courts in each Canadian province and territory. The judges of these courts are appointed by the federal Governor in Council on the advice of the Prime Minister under section 96 of the Constitution Act, 1867 (which gives the federal government appointment authority). The provinces fund the operation of these courts and administer their non-judicial functions.

Each province has two levels of section-96 superior courts. The Superior Court of Justice (Ontario), the Superior Court of Quebec, the Supreme Court of British Columbia, the Court of King's Bench (Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick), the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island serve as the trial-level superior court. Each province also has a Court of Appeal (sometimes called the Provincial Court of Appeal), which hears appeals from the trial-level superior court and from the lower provincial courts. The territories have parallel structures.

Provincial superior courts hear three principal types of cases. Civil cases include contract disputes, tort claims, family law (divorces, child custody, support), estates, commercial litigation, and class actions. Criminal cases include indictable offences (the more serious criminal charges) and most jury trials. Constitutional matters and judicial review of provincial administrative tribunals also come before the superior courts. The Court of Appeal hears appeals from the trial level and from the lower provincial courts.

Notable Canadian Courts of Appeal include the Ontario Court of Appeal (about 22 judges, the largest provincial appellate court), the Quebec Court of Appeal (about 20 judges), the British Columbia Court of Appeal (about 14 judges), and the Alberta Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal for Yukon (in Whitehorse) is unique in including judges who serve on both the BC Court of Appeal and the Yukon Court of Appeal. Major recent provincial appellate decisions include the 2024 Quebec Court of Appeal ruling in Hak v. Quebec (upholding Bill 21), the 2024 Ontario Court of Appeal ruling on the Greenbelt protection, and many Indigenous rights and Charter cases. Provincial superior courts decide far more cases than the Supreme Court of Canada (about 250,000 to 350,000 cases per year combined across all provinces).