List of justices of the Supreme Court of Canada by seat

The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada. It was established by the Parliament of Canada through the Supreme and Exchequer Court Act of 1875,Supreme and Exchequer Court Act, SC 1875, c. 11, s. 1. as authorized by Section 101 of the Constitution Act, 1867.Constitution Act, 1867, s. 101. Since 1949, the Court has been the final court of appeal in the Canadian justice system. (Previously, it had functioned as an intermediate appellate court subject to appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the United Kingdom.) Parliament initially fixed the size of the Court at six justices: the chief justice of Canada and five puisne justices; and, until 1887, the justices also sat individually as judges of the Exchequer Court.Supreme and Exchequer Court Act, s. 3.The Exchequer Court Act, SC 1887, c 16. A sixth puisne justice was added in 1927, bringing the Court to a total of seven justices.An Act to amend the Supreme Court Act, SC 1927, c. 38, s. 1. Two additional puisne seats were created in 1949,An Act to amend the Supreme Court Act, SC 1949, c. 37, s. 1. bringing the Court to a total of nine justices, which is its current complement.Supreme Court Act, RSC 1985, c. S-26, s. 4.

The following tables trace the succession of justices of the Supreme Court of Canada by seat. Justices are appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister. When a chief justice leaves office, the vacancy is traditionally filled by elevating an incumbent puisne justice to the position, which requires a separate appointment process. There are no formal numbers or names for the individual puisne justice seats, which are listed in this article simply by number and the name of the first puisne justice to occupy it, as well as by the year in which each was established by Parliament. The numbering of puisne justice seats established simultaneously, and reflects the order of precedence of the inaugural justices to occupy those seats.

The start date listed for each justice is the day the justice took the judicial oath of office, and the end date is the date of the justice's death, resignation, retirement, or appointment as chief justice. The names of incumbents are in bold.

Original seats

Chief JusticeThe Chief's seat William Buell Richards(1815–1889) January 10, 1879 William Johnstone Ritchie (1813–1892) January 11, 1879 – September 25, 1892 Samuel Henry Strong(1825–1909) December 13, 1892 – November 17, 1902 Henri-Elzéar Taschereau(1836–1911) November 21, 1902 – May 1, 1906 Charles Fitzpatrick(1853–1942) June 4, 1906 – October 20, 1918 Louis Henry Davies(1845–1924) October 23, 1918 – May 1, 1924 Francis Alexander Anglin(1865–1933) September 16, 1924 – February 27, 1933 Lyman Duff(1865–1955) March 17, 1933 – January 6, 1944 Thibaudeau Rinfret(1879–1962) January 8, 1944 – June 21, 1954 Patrick Kerwin(1889–1963) July 1, 1954 – February 2, 1963 Robert Taschereau(1896–1970) April 22, 1963 – August 31, 1967 John Robert Cartwright(1895–1979) September 1, 1967 – March 22, 1970 Joseph Honoré Gérald Fauteux(1900–1980) March 23, 1970 – December 22, 1973 Bora Laskin(1912–1984) December 27, 1973 – March 26, 1984 Brian Dickson(1916–1998) April 18, 1984 – June 29, 1990 Antonio Lamer(1933–2007) July 1, 1990 – January 6, 2000 Beverley McLachlin(born 1943) January 7, 2000 – December 14, 2017 Richard Wagner(born 1957) December 18, 2017 – present

Puisne Justice 1The Ritchie seat William Johnstone Ritchie (1813–1892) September 30, 1875 – January 11, 1879 John Wellington Gwynne(1814–1902) January 14, 1879 – January 7, 1902 David Mills(1831–1903) February 8, 1902 – May 8, 1903 Wallace Nesbitt(1858–1930) May 16, 1903 – October 3, 1905 James Maclennan(1833–1915) October 5, 1905 – February 12, 1909 Francis Alexander Anglin(1865–1933) February 23, 1909 – September 16, 1924 Edmund Leslie Newcombe(1859–1931) September 16, 1924 – December 9, 1931 Oswald Smith Crocket(1868–1945) September 21, 1932 – April 12, 1943 Ivan Rand(1884–1969) April 22, 1943 – April 26, 1959 Roland Ritchie(1910–1988) May 5, 1959 – October 30, 1984 Gérard La Forest(born 1926) January 16, 1985 – September 30, 1997 Michel Bastarache(born 1947) September 30, 1997 – June 30, 2008 Thomas Cromwell(born 1952) December 22, 2008 – August 31, 2016 Malcolm Rowe(born 1953) October 28, 2016 – present

Puisne Justice 2The Strong seat Samuel Henry Strong(1825–1909) September 30, 1875 – December 13, 1892 Robert Sedgewick(1848–1906) February 18, 1893 – August 4, 1906 Lyman Duff(1865–1955) September 27, 1906 – March 17, 1933 Frank Joseph Hughes(1883–1967) March 17, 1933 – February 12, 1935 Patrick Kerwin(1889–1963) July 20, 1935 – July 1, 1954 Douglas Charles Abbott(1899–1987) July 1, 1954 – December 22, 1973 Louis-Philippe de Grandpré(1917–2008) January 1, 1974 – September 30, 1977 Yves Pratte(1925–1988) October 1, 1977 – June 29, 1979 Julien Chouinard(1929–1987) September 24, 1979 – February 6, 1987 Claire L'Heureux-Dubé(born 1927) April 15, 1987 – June 30, 2002 Marie Deschamps(born 1952) August 7, 2002 – August 6, 2012 Richard Wagner(born 1957) October 5, 2012 – December 18, 2017 Sheilah Martin(born 1956) December 18, 2017 – May 30, 2026 Glenn D. Joyal June 30, 2026 – present

Puisne Justice 3The Taschereau seat Jean-Thomas Taschereau(1814–1893) September 30, 1875 – October 6, 1878 Sir Henri-Elzéar Taschereau(1836–1911) October 7, 1878 – November 21, 1902 John Douglas Armour(1830–1903) November 21, 1902 – July 11, 1903 Albert Clements Killam(1849–1908) August 8, 1903 – February 5, 1905 John Idington(1840–1928) February 10, 1905 – March 30, 1927 John Henderson Lamont(1865–1936) April 2, 1927 – March 10, 1936 Albert Blellock Hudson(1875–1947) March 24, 1936 – January 6, 1947 Charles Holland Locke(1887–1980) June 3, 1947 – September 15, 1962 Emmett Matthew Hall(1898–1995) November 23, 1962 – February 28, 1973 Brian Dickson(1916–1998) March 26, 1973 – April 18, 1984 Gerald Le Dain(1924–2007) May 29, 1984 – November 29, 1988 Peter Cory(1925-2020) February 1, 1989 – May 31, 1999 Louise Arbour(born 1947) September 15, 1999 – June 30, 2004 Louise Charron(born 1951) August 30, 2004 – August 29, 2011 (born 1955) October 21, 2011 – present

Puisne Justice 4The Fournier seat Télesphore Fournier(1823–1896) September 30, 1875 – September 11, 1895 Désiré Girouard(1836–1911) September 28, 1895 – March 22, 1911 Louis-Philippe Brodeur(1862–1924) August 11, 1911 – October 9, 1923 Arthur Cyrille Albert Malouin(1857–1936) January 30, 1924 – September 30, 1924 Thibaudeau Rinfret(1879–1962) October 1, 1924 – January 8, 1944 Roy Lindsay Kellock(1893–1975) October 3, 1944 – January 14, 1958 Wilfred Judson(1902–1980) February 5, 1958 – July 19, 1977 Willard Estey(1919–2002) September 29, 1977 – April 21, 1988 John Sopinka(1933–1997) May 24, 1988 – November 24, 1997 Ian Binnie(born 1939) January 8, 1998 – October 20, 2011 Michael Moldaver(born 1947) October 21, 2011 – August 31, 2022 Michelle O'Bonsawin(born 1973/74) September 1, 2022 – present

Puisne Justice 5The Henry seat William Alexander Henry(1816–1888) September 30, 1875 – May 3, 1888 Christopher Salmon Patterson(1823–1893) October 27, 1888 – July 24, 1893 George Edwin King(1839–1901) September 21, 1893 – May 8, 1901 Louis Henry Davies(1845–1924) September 25, 1901 – October 23, 1918 Pierre-Basile Mignault(1854–1945) October 25, 1918 – September 29, 1929 Lawrence Arthur Dumoulin Cannon (1877–1939) January 14, 1930 – December 25, 1939 Robert Taschereau(1896–1970) February 9, 1940 – April 22, 1963 Wishart Flett Spence(1904–1998) May 30, 1963 – December 28, 1978 William McIntyre(1918–2009) January 1, 1979 – February 14, 1989 Beverley McLachlin(born 1943) March 30, 1989 – January 7, 2000 Louis LeBel(1939-2023) January 7, 2000 – November 29, 2014 Suzanne Côté(born 1958) December 1, 2014 – present

Additional seats

Puisne Justice 6The Smith seat Robert Smith(1858–1942) May 18, 1927 – December 6, 1933 Henry Hague Davis(1885–1944) January 31, 1935 – June 30, 1944 James Wilfred Estey(1889–1956) October 6, 1944 – January 22, 1956 Henry Grattan Nolan(1893–1957) March 1, 1956 – July 8, 1957 Ronald Martland(1909–1997) January 15, 1958 – February 9, 1982 Bertha Wilson(1923–2007) March 4, 1982 – January 3, 1991 Frank Iacobucci(born 1937) January 7, 1991 – June 30, 2004 Rosalie Abella(born 1946) August 30, 2004 – June 30, 2021 Mahmud Jamal(born 1967) July 1, 2021 – present

Puisne Justice 7The Cartwright seat John Robert Cartwright(1895–1979) December 22, 1949 – September 1, 1967 Louis-Philippe Pigeon(1905–1986) September 21, 1967 – February 7, 1980 Antonio Lamer(1933–2007) March 28, 1980 – July 1, 1990 William Stevenson(1934–2021) September 17, 1990 – June 4, 1992 John C. Major(born 1931) November 13, 1992 – December 24, 2005 Marshall Rothstein(born 1940) March 1, 2006 – August 30, 2015 Russell Brown(born 1965) August 31, 2015 – June 12, 2023 Mary Moreau(born 1957) November 6, 2023 – present

Puisne Justice 8The Fauteux seat Joseph Honoré Gérald Fauteux(1900–1980) December 22, 1949 – March 23, 1970 Bora Laskin(1912–1984) March 19, 1970 – December 27, 1973 Jean Beetz(1927–1991) January 1, 1974 – November 9, 1988 Charles Gonthier(1928–2009) February 1, 1989 – July 31, 2003 Morris Fish(born 1938) August 5, 2003 – August 30, 2013 Clément Gascon(born 1960) June 9, 2014 – September 15, 2019 Nicholas Kasirer(born 1960) September 16, 2019 – present

Notes

References

Sources Dates of service from:

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