The Canadian legal system uses both legislation and cases decided by judges as important sources of law. Formal decisions of judges may be published in printed or electronic formats. These decisions will often provide an interpretation and application of the legislation.
Court decisions may also be referred to as judgments, reasons for judgment, reasons for decision or memorandum of judgment. These are different than court orders which are generally only available directly from the court that issued the order and not usually available online in Alberta. Not every decision is reported, formally published or available online; some are delivered orally or decided by a jury.
Tips when looking for cases
Reasons for judgment can be delivered immediately or reserved, when reserved the matter will be considered before the judge issues the judgment.
Written court decisions may be found in a few places; freely online, through paid databases and/or in print law reports.
- don’t assume the information you have is accurate
- check for variations in the spelling
- try different court levels or jurisdictions
- remember recent can mean different things to different people
- Style of cause with initials. They may be indexed by last name or first name.
Canadian Decisions
Most cases are assigned a unique neutral citation by the courts. It consists of the year, province abbreviation, court level and a sequential number. (ie. 2018 ABCA 102)
For print case reporters on a specific subject, visit our subject-specific guides or search our catalogue.
- CanLII – Federal – includes Supreme court, Federal Court, Tax Court and others.
- Canada Supreme Court Reports (SCR)
- Canadian Human Rights Tribunal Decisions
- Administrative Tribunals in Canada
- Employment Insurance Jurisprudence Library – Government of Canada employment decisions
- Supreme Court of Canada – access to reasons for judgment, factums, memorandums, judgments in leave applications
- Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) – provides free full-text access to Canadian case law. The scope of coverage varies by jurisdiction and court.
- HeinOnline – Includes Canada Supreme Court Reports in PDF
- Lexis Advance® Quicklaw®
- vLex Justis
- Westlaw Canada – Includes access to the Canadian Abridgment
Alberta
The official version of the reasons for judgment is the signed original or handwritten endorsement in the court file. If there is a question about the content of a judgment, the original court file takes precedence
- CanLII – Alberta Court of Justice
- CanLII – Alberta Court of King’s Bench
- CanLII – Alberta Court of Appeal
- Alberta Energy Regulator
- Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission
- Alberta Human Rights Commission
- Alberta Information and Privacy Commissioner
- Alberta Labour Relations Board
This website includes decisions of the Board from 2001, with some earlier decisions dating back to 1988. - Alberta Metis Settlement Appeals Tribunal
- Alberta Natural Resource Conservation Board
- Appeals Commission for Alberta Worker’s Compensation
- Environmental Appeal Board
British Columbia
B.C. Human Rights Tribunal Decisions
This website includes the Tribunal decisions from 1997 to the present.
Court of Appeal and Supreme Court
This website includes decisions from 1990 to the present.
CanLII – Provincial Court
This website includes decisions from 1999 to the present.
British Columbia Reports
This website includes decisions from 1867-1948
Unreported B.C. Decisions
Using this index you can search unreported B.C. decisions held in the Vancouver Courthouse Library.
Manitoba
CanLII – Manitoba Court Decisions
The Manitoba government does not maintain its own database of court decisions, but CanLii includes decisions from Manitoba courts, and some administrative tribunals, from 1998 to the present.
Manitoba Human Rights Commission
This website includes the Commission’s decisions from 1997 through the present.
New Brunswick
CanLII – New Brunswick Court Decisions
The New Brunswick government does not maintain its own database of court decisions, but CanLII includes decisions from New Brunswick Courts, and some administrative tribunals, from 1990 to the present.
Newfoundland and Labrador
CanLII – Newfoundland and Labrador Court Decisions
The government of Newfoundland and Labrador does not maintain its own database of court decisions, but CanLII includes decisions from Newfoundland and Labrador Courts, and some administrative tribunals, from 1993 to the present.
Labour Relations Board Decisions
This website includes decisions rendered by the Board from 1975 to the present.
Northwest Territories
Canlii – Northwest Territories Court Decisions – contains court decisions starting from 1996 as well as many board and tribunal decisions
Northwest Territories Court Decisions
This bilingual website includes decisions from 2006 to the present. The database also includes brief digests for some older decisions, where the full-text is not available online.
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia Court Decisions
This website includes decisions from various Nova Scotia courts, 2003 to the present, together with some selected older decisions.
CanLII – Nova Scotia Court Decisions
Includes decisions from Nova Scotia courts and various administrative tribunals from 1945 – present, the coverage of the decisions varies with each court or tribunal. Canlii also includes cited decisions from the Nova Scotia Reports (NSR) form 1970 – 2016.
Nunavut
CanLII – Nunavut Court Decisions
The government of Nunavut does not maintain its own database of court decisions, but CanLII includes decisions from Nunavut courts from their creation in 1999 to the present. (Note that prior to 1999, Nunavut was part of the Northwest Territories.)
Ontario
Decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario
This bilingual website includes decisions from 1998 to the present.
CanLII – Ontario Court Decisions
CanLII includes decisions from Ontario Courts and various administrative tribunals, mostly from 2002 to the present.
Prince Edward Island
CanLII – Prince Edward Island Court Decisions
CanLII includes decisions from Prince Edward Island Courts and some administrative tribunals, from 1993 to the present.
Quebec
Décisions des tribunaux du Québec
This French-language website includes decisions of various Quebec courts and administrative tribunals, from 1987 to the present.
Canlii- Quebec court decisions – includes decisions from 1986 onwards as well as many board and tribunal decisions
Centre d’access a la information juridique (CAIJ) – a natural language tool for searching Quebec caselaw and doctrine (Law Collection – Ecole du Barreau)
Selected decisions, 2004 to the present, have been unofficially translated into English.
Saskatchewan
CanLII – Saskatchewan Court Decisions
The government of Saskatchewan does not maintain its own database of court decisions, but CanLII includes decisions from Saskatchewan courts, and some administrative tribunals, from 1994 to the present.
Saskatchewan Case Digests
This database contains case digests of Court of Appeal, King’s Bench, and a selection of Provincial Court judgments from 1987 to the present.
Yukon
CanLII – Yukon Court Decisions
The government of Yukon does not maintain its own database of court decisions, but CanLII includes decisions from Yukon courts from 1996 to the present.
Unreported and Oral Decisions (Canadian)
Unreported decisions are the written decisions of a judge that have not been published in a case law reporter. Alberta Law Libraries has a collection of Unreported Decisions from 1954-2009. Most unreported decisions after 2009 are available on Canlii unless their are publication bans. For decisions prior to 2009 they may be available on Canlii but if not, please visit the library or use our Ask a Law Librarian service to find out if we have the Unreported Decision you are seeking in our paper collection.
Oral decisions have no written reasons as the decision was given orally in court.
- For oral decisions you must request a transcript of the case. See “How to Order a court transcript across Canada” for information pertaining to each province.
Jury trials also have no written reasons. To determine the outcome of a jury trial you can try looking for newspaper or journal articles on the case.
Alberta Law libraries maintains a collection of unreported decisions from 1954-2008. This collection contains a few oral decisions as well. Many of these decisions can not be accessed remotely, except for those that are now on CanLII.
Oral decisions:
- Order a Court of Justice or Court of Kings’s Bench transcript online.
- Transcript management keeps cases for 10 years.
- There is a fee for this service based on the size of the document.
- If they no longer have a copy of a decision and the decision went to appeal the transcript of the oral decision is part of the appeal book and a copy may be requested through the registry at the Court of Appeal. There is a fee for this service.
- Older decisions and all of the court documents relating to those files may be available through the Provincial Archives of Alberta if you are unable to locate them elsewhere. They typically don’t receive materials until they are between 42-80 years old depending on the type of case.
- SOQUIJ Translations of selected decisions of the Court of Appeal of Quebec, Superior Court of Quebec and the Court of Quebec
- SOQUIJ RRS Feed If you would like notification of newly translated decisions
Citing Cases
Properly and uniformly citing cases allows readers to easily locate and retrieve documents. This section introduces some basic principles for citing cases and points you to websites and tools for legal citation in general. This guide is not exhaustive. For detailed information about legal citation, always refer to the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation, 10th ed. often referred to as the McGill Guide.
The Court of King’s Bench of Alberta officially adopts the most recent edition of the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation, 10th ed.
See also:
- Citation Guidelines – Court of King’s Bench of Alberta
- Alberta Rules of Court
Last revised: April 15, 2024
Style of Cause
Style of Cause
- The style of cause consists of the names of parties to an action. It is a short version of the title of the case.
- A v or a c separates the names of the parties (the letter v means the decision is in English and the letter c means the decision is in French). If the decision is bilingual and you are writing in English, use v.
- Italicize the names of the parties and the v or c that separates their names. If more than one person is on either side of an action, use the name of the first party listed.
- Refer to section 3.3 Style of Cause in the McGill Guide
- Examples:
- 689799 Alberta Ltd v Edmonton (City)
- R v Vader (The “r” refers to the Crown, or government, in criminal cases)
Neutral Citations
Neutral Citations
- Neutral citations are assigned by the courts and consist of the year, an abbreviation for the court and a sequential number.
- The neutral citation should always be provided first if you are listing multiple reporters.
- Refer to section 3.5 Neutral Citation in the McGill Guide
- Examples (The bolded section is an example of a neutral citation):
- R v Alwan, 2024 ABCJ 72
- ATCO Energy Solutions Ltd v Energy Dynamics Ltd, 2024 ABKB 162
Official Reporters
Official Reporters
- If the case was reported in an official reporter, place the official reporter citation directly after the neutral citation.
- Official reporters are published by the King’s Printer. The McGill Guide lists three official reporters:
- SCR or RCS (Canada Supreme Court Reports / Recueil des arrêts de la Cour suprême du Canada)
- FCR or CF (Federal Court Reports / Recueil des arrêts de la Cour fédérale du Canada)
- Ex CR or RC de l’É (Exchequer Court of Canada Reports / Receuil des arrêts de la Cour de l’Échiquier)
- Refer to sections 3.7 Online Database Services and 3.8 Printed Reporter of the McGill Guide
- Examples (The bolded section is an example of an official reporter):
- Ernst v Alberta Energy Regulator, 2017 SCC 1, [2017] 1 SCR 3
- Secure Energy Services Inc. v. Canada (Commissioner of Competition), [2023] FCA 172
Semi-Official Reporters
Semi-Official Reporters
- If the neutral citation and/or official reporters are not available, provide a citation from a semi-official reporter
- Find a complete listing of semi-official reporters in Appendix C-2 of the McGill Guide
- Example (The bolded section is an example of a
- Schitthelm v. Kelemen, 2013 ABQB 42, 557 A.R. 151
Other Sources
Other Sources
Other sources include citations from electronic services and unofficial reports. Keep the following in mind when providing citations to other sources:
- if there is a neutral citation, provide it.
- provide sources in this order: neutral citation; official reporter; semi-official reporter; and lastly other sources
- choose other sources carefully and consider their accessibility to readers (for electronic services, preference is given to databases that are widely accessible, for example CanLII.
- printed reporters that cover a large geographic area and are readily available are preferred
- consult the McGill Guide to figure out which sources to cite based on what is available for a given case.
Pinpoint References
Pinpoint References
A pinpoint reference refers to a specific paragraph or page number. Keep the following in mind when making pinpoint references.
- place the pinpoint reference after the main citation. If there is a neutral citation, always refer to paragraphs.
- cite paragraphs using ¶, para or paras
- place the abbreviation for “and following” (ff) immediately after the page or paragraph number to indicate a general area
- separate consecutive page or paragraph numbers with a hyphen (Example: 30-40)
- if referring to paragraphs or pages that are not in sequential order, separate the paragraph or page numbers with a comma (Example: 128, 190)
- Refer to section 3.6 Pinpoint in the McGill Guide
Last revised: April 16, 2024.
- University of Calgary’s LAW Legal Citation (McGill Guide) Quick Reference
- The Canadian Legal Research and Writing Guide: Section 13 on Legal Citation
- Queen’s University Library’s Legal Citation with the 10th Edition of the McGill Guide
- Queen’s University Library’s course Practice: Legal Citation with the McGill Guide (10th ed)
- Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations: database of abbreviations for legal publications
Last revised: April 16, 2024
Terminology
- Style of Cause – refers to the parties involved in the case. Plantiff & defendant.
- Headnote – summary of a case provided by a published case decision either online or written
- Neutral citation – refers to the unique citation given to a case by the court. They usually appear in the following format: (year) 2021 (Provincial abbreviation) AB (Court Level) QB (number) 122 – e.g. 2021 ABQB 122
- Transcript – refers to the orally transcribed reasons for a decision
Fatality inquiries
Judicial Consideration (Noting-up)
Noting up a case involves researching its appeal history and the judicial consideration it has received in subsequent decisions. Judicial consideration refers to a decision being followed, distinguished, overruled or considered by a later decision. Searching for judicial consideration may help you determine if the case has been influential, locate similar cases, and see how the law has evolved in terms of a particular legal principle.
- Words & Phrases Judicially Defined in Canadian Courts and Tribunals. This multi-volume set with annual cumulative supplements is a component of Canadian Abridgment. It includes statutory and common law terms from every area of law. Negative definitions, as well as positive, are included. Available electronically in Westlaw Canada
- Sanagan’s Encyclopedia of Words and Phrases, Legal Maxims, Canada, 5th ed. by John D. Gardner & Karen M. Gardner. This is a multi-volume looseleaf set with definitions from Canadian courts.
- Words That Bind: Words and Phrases Judicially Considered by the Supreme Court of Canada and by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council to 1949 by J.E. Coté.
You can note up your case using:
- Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) – From the home page using the noteup/discussion search bar or within the full text of the decision selecting the treatment tab.
- LexisAdvance® Quicklaw® Noteup using QuickCITE
- Westlaw Canada Noteup using KeyCite
- vLex Justis
When noting up watch the case treatment indicators to determine how the case was treated. ie positive, negative, cautionary etc.
International Cases
- Australian Legal Information Institute (AustLII) This website provides access to decisions from various Australian courts and administrative tribunals, mostly from the 1990s to the present.
- British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILII) This website contains British and Irish case law, legislation and other materials (e.g. Law Commission Reports), and European case law.
- Commonwealth Legal Information Institute (CommonLII) This website provides access to case law and legislation from 60 commonwealth and common law jurisdictions.
- House of Lords
- Supreme Court
- HeinOnline – Includes the English Reports Full Reprint 1220-1867
- ICLR
- vLex Justis
- Legal Information Institute (LII) The LII collection of state legal materials gathers, state by state, Internet-accessible sources of the constitutions, statutes, judicial opinions, and regulations for the fifty states, plus D.C., and the U.S. territories and affiliated jurisdictions.
- Historic Supreme Court Decisions American
- HeinOnline – Includes early American case law and the U.S. Supreme Court Reports.
- World Legal Information Institute (WorldLII) provides access to 1000+ databases from 100+ jurisdictions including Australia, Southern Africa and Asia.
Additional Sources
- How to Order a Court Transcript across Canada
- Native Law Centre – Legal Pleadings – includes pleadings from noteworthy Aboriginal law cases
- Reading and Understanding Case Reports: A Guide for Self-Represented Litigants
Disclaimer: As law librarians, we are pleased to provide you this resource for information and research purposes only – It is not a substitute for professional legal advice. We strive to bring you quality and current information in this resource, but we make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, accessibility, adequacy, or completeness of the information presented here. The sources featured are selected based on professional assessment and opinion, and do not constitute an endorsement, editorial, review, or guarantee.