Law of Canada#Legal traditions

{{See also|Constitution of Canada}}

File:British North America Act, 1867.jpg

Pursuant to section 52 of the Constitution Act, 1982, Canada's constitution is its supreme law, and any law passed by any federal, provincial, or territorial government that is inconsistent with the constitution is invalid.Constitution Act, 1982, Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11, [http://canlii.ca/t/ldsx#sec52 s 52].{{cite book|author1=Richard W. Bauman|author2=Tsvi Kahana|title=The Least Examined Branch: The Role of Legislatures in the Constitutional State|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0KpYkm9SJvAC&pg=PA159|year=2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-46040-8|page=159}}

The Constitution Act, 1982 stipulates that Canada's constitution includes that act, a series of thirty Acts and orders referred to in a schedule to that Act (the most notable of which is the Constitution Act, 1867), and any amendment to any of those Acts.Craik 94 However, the Supreme Court of Canada has found that this list is not intended to be exhaustive, and in 1998's Reference re Secession of Quebec identified four "supporting principles and rules" that are included as unwritten elements of the constitution: federalism, democracy, constitutionalism and the rule of law, and respect for minorities.Craik 96 While these principles are an enforceable part of Canada's constitution, Canadian courts have not used them to override the written text of the constitution, instead confining their role to "filling gaps".Craik 98

Because the Constitution Act, 1867 provides that Canada's constitution is "similar in Principle to that of the United Kingdom",{{cite book|author=Frederick Lee Morton|title=Law, Politics and the Judicial Process in Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dj_4_H35nmYC&pg=PA216|year=2002|publisher=University of Calgary Press|isbn=978-1-55238-046-8|page=216}} which is considered to be an uncodified constitution, the Supreme Court has also recognized the existence of constitutional conventions. In 1981's Reference re a Resolution to amend the Constitution, the Court provided three factors necessary for the existence of a constitutional convention: a practice or agreement developed by political actors, a recognition that they are bound to follow that practice or agreement, and a purpose for that practice or agreement. It also found that, while these conventions are not law and are therefore unenforceable by the courts, courts may recognize conventions in their rulings.Craik 105

File:Every Canadian Needs A Copy.jpg

The Constitution Act, 1867 assigns powers to the provincial and federal governments. Matters under federal jurisdiction include criminal law, trade and commerce, banking, and immigration.{{cite book|author=OECD|title=Linking Regions and Central Governments Contracts for Regional Development: Contracts for Regional Development|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wExEUAmdBL4C&pg=PA173|year=2007|publisher=OECD Publishing|isbn=978-92-64-00875-5|page=173}} The federal government also has the residual power to make laws necessary for Canada's "peace, order and good government".{{cite book|author1=Munroe Eagles|author2=Larry Johnston|title=Politics: An Introduction to Modern Democratic Government|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uw9BHYRdtsAC&pg=PA262|date= 2008|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-1-55111-858-1|page=262}} One of the major areas of provincial jurisdiction is property and civil rights, which includes broad power to enact laws of a civil nature, such as property law, contract law and family law. Provincial jurisdiction includes other matters, such as natural resources, hospitals, municipalities, education (except education on First Nation reserves).Craik 125

The Constitution Act, 1867 also provides that, while provinces establish their own superior courts, the federal government appoints their judges.{{cite book|author1=Patrick N. Malcolmson|author2=Richard Myers|title=The Canadian Regime: An Introduction to Parliamentary Government in Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-jpXFH_ZhY8C&pg=PA149|year=2009|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-1-4426-0047-8|page=149}} It also gives the federal Parliament the right to establish a court system responsible for federal law and a general court of appeal to hear appeals of decisions of both federal and provincial courts.Craik 127 This last power resulted in the federal Parliament's creation of the Supreme Court of Canada.Craik 127–128

The Constitution Act, 1982 created a mechanism by which Canada's constitution could be amended by joint action of federal and provincial legislatures; prior to 1982, most of it could be amended only by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.Craik 131 It also contains the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which grants individual rights that may not be contravened by any provincial or federal law.Craik 119

Acts passed by the Parliament of Canada and by provincial legislatures are the primary sources of law in Canada. Sections 91 and 94A of the Constitution Act, 1867 set out the subject matters for exclusive federal jurisdiction. Sections 92, 92A, and 94 set out the areas of exclusive provincial legislation. Section 95 sets out areas of concurrent federal and provincial jurisdiction.[https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/section-95.html#h-24 Constitution Act, 1867, s. 95.]

Laws passed by the federal Parliament are initially published in the Canada Gazette, a federal government newspaper published regularly and which includes new statutes and regulations.{{Cite canlaw|short title =Statutory Instruments Act|abbr =RSC|year =1985|chapter =S-22.|link =https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/S-22/index.html}}{{cite web |url=http://www.gazette.gc.ca/cg-gc/about-sujet-eng.html |title=Canada Gazette – About Us |publisher=Gazette.gc.ca |date=2010-06-09 |access-date=2011-02-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706182010/http://www.gazette.gc.ca/cg-gc/about-sujet-eng.html |archive-date=2011-07-06 |url-status=dead }} Federal statutes are subsequently published in the annual Statutes of Canada. From time to time, the federal government will prepare a consolidation of federal statutes, known as the Revised Statutes of Canada.{{Cite canlaw|short title =Legislation Revision and Consolidation Act|abbr =RSC|year =1985|chapter =S-20.|link =https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/S-20/index.html}} The most recent federal consolidation was in 1985.

Laws passed by the provinces follow a similar practice. The Acts are pronounced in a provincial gazette, published annually and consolidated from time to time.

The Revised Statutes of Canada is the federal statutory consolidation of statutes enacted by the Parliament of Canada. In each Canadian province, there is a similar consolidation of the statute law of the province. The Revised Statutes of British Columbia, Revised Statutes of Alberta, Statutes of Manitoba, Revised Statutes of Saskatchewan, 1978, Revised Statutes of New Brunswick, Revised Statutes of Nova Scotia, Statutes of Prince Edward Island, Consolidated Statutes of Newfoundland and Labrador, Revised Statutes of Ontario, and Revised Statutes of Quebec are the statutory consolidations of each Canadian province. They contain all of the major topic areas and most of the statutes enacted by the governments in each province. These statutes in these provinces do not include criminal law, as the criminal law in Canada is an exclusive jurisdiction of the federal Parliament, which has enacted the Criminal Code, which is included in the Revised Statutes of Canada.

Nine of the provinces, other than Quebec, and the federal territories, follow the common law legal tradition.{{cite book|author1=Dennis Campbell|author2=Susan Cotter|title=Comparative Law Yearbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2rrPJWq6D6kC&pg=PA234|year=1998|publisher=Kluwer Law International|isbn=978-90-411-0740-4|page=234}} While the federal territories use common law, Indigenous nations and their associated territories do not (see below). Equally, courts have power under the provincial Judicature Acts to apply equity.

As with all common law countries, Canadian law adheres to the doctrine of {{Lang|la|stare decisis}}.{{cite book|author=Richard A. Mann|title=Business Law and the Regulation of Business|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6mFB6ewnUI0C&pg=PA7|year=2013|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-1-133-58757-6|page=7}} Lower courts must follow the decisions of higher courts by which they are bound. For instance, all Ontario lower courts are bound by the decisions of the Ontario Court of Appeal and all British Columbia lower courts are bound by the decisions of the British Columbia Court of Appeal. However, no Ontario court is bound by decisions of any British Columbia court and no British Columbia court is bound by decisions of any Ontario court. Nonetheless, decisions made by a province's highest court (provincial Courts of Appeal) are often considered as "persuasive" even though they are not binding on other provinces.{{cite book|author=Robert A. Battram|title=Canada In Crisis...: An Agenda to Unify the Nation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z3fp-S2_c7kC&pg=PA26|year=2010|publisher=Trafford Publishing|isbn=978-1-4269-8062-6|page=26}}

Only the Supreme Court of Canada has authority to bind all lower courts in the country with a single ruling, but the Supreme Court cannot bind itself.{{cite book|author=Graeme R. Newman|title=Crime and Punishment around the World: [Four Volumes]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2uK6bR9byVIC&pg=RA1-PA77|date=30 October 2010|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-35134-1|page=77}} The busier courts, such as the Court of Appeal for Ontario, for example, are often looked to for guidance on many local matters of law outside the province, especially in matters such as evidence and criminal law.

When there is little or no existing Canadian decision on a particular legal issue and it becomes necessary to look to a non-Canadian legal authority for reference, decisions of English courts and American courts are often utilized.{{cite book|author=Ian Bushnell|title=Captive Court: A Study of the Supreme Court of Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q5telT6zFRUC&pg=PA53|year=1992|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press – MQUP|isbn=978-0-7735-6301-8|page=53}} In light of the long-standing history between English law and Canadian law, the English Court of Appeal and the House of Lords are often cited as and considered persuasive authority, and are often followed.

Decisions from Commonwealth nations, aside from England, are also often treated as persuasive sources of law in Canada.

Due to Canada's historical connection with the United Kingdom, decisions of the House of Lords before 1867 are technically still binding on Canada unless they have been overturned by the Supreme Court of Canada, and Canada is still bound by the decisions of the Privy Council before the abolishment of appeals to that entity in 1949.{{cite book|author=Frederick Lee Morton|title=Law, Politics and the Judicial Process in Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dj_4_H35nmYC&pg=PA389|year=2002|publisher=University of Calgary Press|isbn=978-1-55238-046-8|page=389}} In practice, however, no court in Canada has declared itself bound by any English court decision for decades, and it is highly unlikely that any Canadian court would do so in the future.

Criminal offences are found only within the Criminal Code and other federal statutes; an exception is that contempt of court is the only remaining common law offence in Canada.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bccourts.ca/legal_compendium/Chapter22.asp|title=The Courts of British Columbia - File Not Found|website=www.bccourts.ca}}

{{Main|Law in Quebec}}

For historical reasons, Quebec has a hybrid legal system. Private law follows the civil law tradition, originally expressed in the Coutume de Paris as it applied in what was then New France.{{cite book|author=J. M. Smits|title=Elgar Encyclopedia of Comparative Law|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y_otpAA1EIoC&pg=PA132|year=2012|publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing|isbn=978-1-78100-610-8|page=132}} Today, the {{Lang|la|jus commune}} of Quebec is codified in the Civil Code of Quebec. As for public law, it was made that of the conquering British nation after the fall of New France in 1760, that is, the common law. It is important to note that the distinction between civil law and common law is not based on the division of powers set out in the Constitution Act, 1867. Therefore, legislation enacted by the provincial legislature in matters of public law, such as the Code of Penal Procedure, should be interpreted following the common law tradition. Likewise, legislation enacted by the federal Parliament in matters of private law, such as the Divorce Act, is to be interpreted following the civil law tradition and in harmony with the Civil Code of Quebec.

{{Main|Canadian Indigenous law}}

Canada was founded on the original territories of over 900 different Indigenous groups, each using different Indigenous legal traditions. Cree, Blackfoot, Mi'kmaq and numerous other First Nations; Inuit; and Métis will apply their own legal traditions in daily life, creating contracts, working with governmental and corporate entities, ecological management and criminal proceedings and family law. Most maintain their laws through traditional governance alongside the elected officials and federal laws.{{cite web |author1=Aseniwuche Winewak Nation |author2=University of Victoria Law |author3=Indigenous Bar Associations |author4=Law Foundation of Ontario |author5=Truth and Reconciliation Commission |title=Accessing Justice and Reconciliation: A Cree Legal Summary |url=https://docdro.id/hfWEBpE |access-date=24 December 2018}} The legal precedents set millennia ago are known through stories and derived from the actions and past responses as well as through continuous interpretation by elders and law-keepers—the same process by which nearly all legal traditions, from common laws and civil codes, are formed.

While the many legal traditions appear similar in that none were codified, each has quite different sets of laws. Many laws stem from stories which in turn may stem from writings or markings, such as geographic features,{{cite book |last1=Ignace |first1=Marianne |last2=Ignace |first2=Ronald E |title=Secwépemc People, Land, and Laws – Yerí7 re stsq̓ey̓s-kucw |date=October 2017 |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |location=Secwepemcúl̓ecw, Canada |isbn=9780773551305 |pages=624}} petroglyphs, pictographs, wiigwaasabakoon and more. Inuit Nunangat's governance{{cite web |title=Who We Are |url=https://www.itk.ca/national-voice-for-communities-in-the-canadian-arctic/ |website=Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᑕᐱᕇᑦ ᑲᓇᑕᒥ |access-date=24 December 2018}} differs quite markedly from its many-nationed neighbour Denendeh, as Denendeh's diverse Dene Laws{{cite thesis |last1=Smith |first1=Shirleen |title=Dene Treaties, Anthropology and Colonial Relationships |type=PhD thesis |publisher=University of Alberta |date=1999 |doi=10.7939/R3ZG6GC9Q |doi-access=free}} differ quite markedly from laws governing Lingít Aaní,{{cite web |title=Tlingit Law, American Justice and the Destruction of Tlingit Villages |url=https://vimeo.com/53955608 |website=Vimeo |date=20 November 2012 |publisher=Sealaska Heritage InstituteP |access-date=24 December 2018}}{{cite web |last1=Williams |first1=Jackie |title=Lingit kusteeyì: What my Grandfather taught me |url=https://trt.geolive.ca/stories.html |website=Taku River Tlingit Place Names |publisher=Taku River Tlingit First Nation |access-date=24 December 2018 |quote=A Tlingit history as recounted by Jackie Williams, Wolf Clan Leader, Taku River Tlingit First Nation}} Gitx̱san Lax̱yip{{cite web |title=Our Way: The Traditional System Today |url=http://www.gitxsan.com/about/our-way/traditional-system |website=Gitxsan |publisher=Gitx̱san Nation |access-date=24 December 2018}} or Wet'suwet'en Yin'tah;{{cite web |title=Wet'suwet'en People |url=http://unistoten.camp/about/wetsuweten-people/ |website=Unist'ot'en Camp |publisher=Unist'ot'en |access-date=24 December 2018}} and, as those differ from Haudenosaunee's,{{cite web |title=Haudenosaunee Confederacy |url=https://www.haudenosauneeconfederacy.com/ |website=Haudenosaunee Confederacy |publisher=Haudenosaunee |access-date=24 December 2018}} Eeyou-Istchee's or Mi'kma'ki's. One thing most Indigenous legal and governance traditions have in common is their use of clans such as Anishinaabek's doodeman (though most are matrilineal like Gitx̱san's Wilps).{{cite web |title=Our Way: The Wilp |url=http://www.gitxsan.com/about/our-way/the-wilp/ |website=Gitxsan |publisher=Gitx̱san Nation |access-date=24 December 2018}}

{{Main|Canadian aboriginal law}}

Aboriginal law is the area of law related to the Canadian Government's relationship with its Indigenous peoples (First Nations, Métis and Inuit). Section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867 gives the federal parliament exclusive power to legislate in matters related to Aboriginals, which includes groups governed by the Indian Act, different Numbered Treaties and outside of those Acts.{{cite book|author1=Christian Leuprecht|author2=Peter H. Russell |title=Essential Readings in Canadian Constitutional Politics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kDN1WzoaFNEC&pg=PA477 |year=2011 |publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-1-4426-0368-4|page=477}}

{{Main|Canadian administrative law}}

Canadian administrative law is the body of law that addresses the actions and operations of governments and governmental agencies.{{cite book|author=Robert Leckey|title=Contextual Subjects: Family, State and Relational Theory|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L0qpbw9xuWUC&pg=PA143|year=2008|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-9749-1|page=143}}

{{Main|Canadian contract law}}

Individual provinces have codified some principles of contract law in a Sale of Goods Act, which was modeled on early English versions. Outside of Quebec, most contract law is still common law, based on the rulings of judges in contract litigation over the years. Quebec, being a civil law jurisdiction, does not have contract law, but rather has its own law of obligations.{{cite book|author=Simon N. M. Young|title=Civil Forfeiture of Criminal Property|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bcsuwb_2BiAC&pg=PA176|year=2009|publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing|isbn=978-1-84844-621-2|page=176}}

{{Main|Canadian constitutional law}}

Constitutional law is the area of Canadian law relating to the interpretation and application of the Constitution of Canada by the Courts.Leuprecht/Russell, 2011. p. 451. This is represented in the Constitution Act, 1867, Constitution Act, 1982 and Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

{{Main|Copyright law of Canada}}

Copyright law of Canada governs the legally enforceable rights to creative and artistic works under the laws of Canada.{{cite book|author=Lesley Ellen Harris|title=Canadian Copyright Law|year=2001|publisher=McGraw-Hill Ryerson|isbn=978-0-07-560369-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/canadiancopyrigh0000unse/page/15 15]|url=https://archive.org/details/canadiancopyrigh0000unse/page/15}}

{{Main|Criminal law of Canada}}

File:CanadianCriminalCases2.jpg

Criminal law in Canada falls under the exclusive legislative jurisdiction of the federal government. The power to enact criminal law is derived from section 91(27) of the Constitution Act, 1867.{{cite book|author1=Michelle G. Grossman|author2=Julian V. Roberts|title=Criminal Justice in Canada: A Reader|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uXjCtKObHGQC&pg=PA2|year=2011|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-0-17-650228-7|page=2}} Most criminal laws have been codified in the Criminal Code, as well as the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, Youth Criminal Justice Act, and several other peripheral Acts.

The provinces are responsible for the administration of justice, including criminal trials within their respective provinces, despite their inability to enact criminal laws.{{cite book|author=H. Stephen Harris|title=Competition Laws Outside the United States: Supplement|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gxRF3AJtDCsC&pg=RA2-PA32|year=2001|publisher=American Bar Association|isbn=978-1-57073-881-4|page=2}} Provinces do have the power to promulgate quasi-criminal or regulatory offences in a variety of administrative and other areas, and every province has done so with myriad rules and regulations across a broad spectrum.{{cite book|author1=Kevin Heller|author2=Markus Dubber|title=The Handbook of Comparative Criminal Law|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tM_BSGfDPG0C&pg=PA99|year=2010|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=978-0-8047-7729-2|page=99}}

{{Further|Canada Evidence Act}}

The Canada Evidence Act is an Act of the Parliament of Canada, first passed in 1893, that regulates the rules of evidence in court proceedings under federal law.{{cite book|author1=Canada|author2=James Crankshaw|title=The Criminal Code of Canada and the Canada Evidence Act as Amended to Date |year=1910|publisher=Carswell Company|page=intro}} Each province also has its own evidence statute, governing the law of evidence in civil proceedings in the province.

{{Main|Canadian family law}}

Family law in Canada concerns the body of Canadian law dealing with family relationship, marriage, and divorce.{{cite book|author=Malcolm C. Kronby|title=Canadian Family Law|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=23XiHCejH2YC&pg=PP1|year=2010|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|isbn=978-0-470-67647-9|page=1}} The federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over the substance of marriage and divorce. Provinces have exclusive jurisdiction over the procedures surrounding marriage. Provinces also have laws dealing with marital property and with family maintenance (including spousal support).

{{Main|Human rights in Canada}}

Human rights are constitutionally protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which applies to the federal and provincial governments and protects the rights of individuals in relation to government action. The Charter protects fundamental freedoms such as freedom of religion, freedom of association, and freedom of expression, as well as prohibiting discrimination on personal characteristics.

Human rights are also protected by federal and provincial statutes, which apply to governments as well as to the private sector. Human rights laws generally prohibit discrimination on personal characteristics in housing, employment, and services to the public. The Canadian Human Rights Act applies to the federal government and to industries under federal jurisdiction, such as aviation and banking. Provincial human rights laws apply to the provincial governments and to industries and businesses under provincial jurisdiction.{{cite book|author=Alan Price|title=Human Resource Management in a Business Context|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gdp4FcmqXqwC&pg=PA391|year=2007|publisher=Cengage Learning EMEA|isbn=978-1-84480-548-8|page=391}}

{{Main|Canadian immigration and refugee law}}

Canadian immigration and refugee law concerns the area of law related to the admission of foreign nationals into Canada, their rights and responsibilities once admitted, and the conditions of their removal.{{cite book|author=John Powell|title=Encyclopedia of North American Immigration|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VNCX6UsdZYkC&pg=PA362|year=2009|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-1012-7|page=362}} The primary law on these matters is in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

{{Main|Inheritance law in Canada}}

Inheritance law in Canada is constitutionally a provincial matter. Therefore, the laws governing inheritance in Canada are legislated by each individual province.

{{Main|Insolvency law of Canada}}

The Parliament of Canada has exclusive jurisdiction to regulate matters relating to bankruptcy and insolvency, by virtue of s.91 of the Constitution Act, 1867. It has passed some statutes as a result, i.e., The Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act ("BIA") and the Winding-Up and Restructuring Act (which essentially applies only to financial institutions under federal jurisdiction).

In applying these statutes, provincial law has important consequences. Section 67(1)(b) of the BIA provides that "any property that as against the bankrupt is exempt from execution or seizure under any laws applicable in the province within which the property is situated and within which the bankrupt resides" is not divisible among their creditors.{{Cite canlaw|short title =Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act|abbr =RSC|year =1985|chapter =B-3.|link =https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/B-3/index.html}} Provincial legislation under the property and civil rights power of the Constitution Act, 1867 regulates the resolution of financial difficulties that occur before the onset of insolvency.

{{Main|Canadian labour and employment law}}

Canadian labour law is that body of law which regulates the rights, restrictions obligations of trade unions, workers and employers in Canada. Canadian employment law is that body of law which regulates the rights, restrictions obligations of non-unionised workers and employers in Canada.[https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/B-3/index.html Government of Canada — Employment and Social Development Act — Acts and Regulations: Labour Program.] Most labour regulation in Canada is conducted at the provincial level by government agencies and boards. However, certain industries under federal regulation are subject solely to federal labour legislation and standards.

{{Main|Canadian patent law}}

Canadian patent law is the legal system regulating the granting of patents for inventions within Canada, and the enforcement of these rights in Canada.{{cite book|author=Thomas F. Cotter|title=Comparative Patent Remedies: A Legal and Economic Analysis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yoz6vJjoyacC&pg=PA166|date=21 March 2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-984065-6|pages=166–167}}

The functioning of the Courts is regulated by the laws of civil procedure which are codified in each province's civil procedures rules.

{{Main|Canadian property law}}

Property law in Canada is the body of law concerning the rights of individuals over land, objects, and expression within Canada. It encompasses personal property, real property, and intellectual property.{{cite book|author=Stuart C. McCormack|title=Intellectual Property Law of Canada|year=1999|publisher=Juris Publishing, Inc.|isbn=978-1-57823-070-9|page=11}}

{{Main|Tort law in Canada}}

Tort law in Canada concerns the treatment of the law of torts within the Canadian jurisdiction excluding Quebec, which is covered by the law of obligations.

{{cite book|author1=Jean Louis Baudouin|author2=Allen M. Linden|title=Tort Law in Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Afq10h3zOA4C&pg=PA13|year=2010|publisher=Kluwer Law International|isbn=978-90-411-3373-1}}

{{Main|Canadian trademark law}}

Canada's trademark law provides protection for distinctive marks, certification marks, distinguishing guises, and proposed marks against those who appropriate the goodwill of the mark or create confusion between different vendors' goods or services.{{cite book|author=Borden Ladner Gervias LLP|title=Trade-Mark Practice in Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3eiPuodbND8C&pg=PA1|year=2011|publisher=Borden Ladner Gervais LLP|isbn=978-0-9730750-5-2|page=1}}

{{See also|Court system of Canada}}

File:Canada Court System.svg)]]

Under the Constitution Act, 1867, the federal Parliament and the provincial legislatures both have the constitutional authority to create courts: Parliament under s. 101, and the Provinces under s. 92(14).{{cite book|author=Augustus Henry Frazer Lefroy|title=Canada's Federal System: Being a Treatise on Canadian Constitutional Law Under the British North America Act|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NV2jAcFu3hoC&pg=PA151|year=2005|publisher=The Lawbook Exchange|isbn=978-1-58477-591-1|page=151}} However, the federal power to create courts is much more limited than the provincial power. The provincial courts have a much more extensive jurisdiction, including the constitutionally entrenched power to determine constitutional issues.

Through Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, Indigenous nations retain significant rights and title. It, however, remains unclear the degree to which Indigenous nations have authority over judicial matters.{{cite web |title=INAN - Section 35 of the Constitution Act 1982 - Background - Jan 28, 2021 |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/transparency/committees/inan-jan-28-2021/inan-section-35-consitution-act-1982-background-jan-28-2021.html |website=Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada |date=13 May 2021 |publisher=Government of Canada |access-date=27 January 2022}} Especially since 1995, the Government of Canada has maintained a policy of recognizing the inherent right of self-governance under section 35.{{cite web|publisher=Department of Indian and Northern Affairs|title=The Government of Canada's Approach to Implementation of the Inherent Right and the Negotiation of Aboriginal Self-Government|url=http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/al/ldc/ccl/pubs/sg/sg-eng.asp|access-date=2009-11-17|quote=The Government of Canada recognizes the inherent right of self-government as an existing Aboriginal right under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. It recognizes, as well, that the inherent right may find expression in treaties, and in the context of the Crown's relationship with treaty First Nations. Recognition of the inherent right is based on the view that the Aboriginal peoples of Canada have the right to govern themselves in relation to matters that are internal to their communities, integral to their unique cultures, identities, traditions, languages and institutions, and with respect to their special relationship to their land and their resources.|archive-date=2011-06-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613170349/http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/al/ldc/ccl/pubs/sg/sg-eng.asp|url-status=dead}} The evolution through cases such as Delgamuukw-Gisday'wa and the Tsilhqot'in Nation v British Columbia has affirmed the Euro-Canadian courts' needs to meaningfully engage with Indigenous legal systems, including through Indigenous structures of dispute resolution.{{cite tech report |first=Stephanie P. |last=Lysyk |title=Evidentiary issues—oral tradition evidence |institution=Aboriginal Law: Procedural and Dispute Resolution Issues |date=October 2006 |URL=https://ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/documents_staticpost/cearref_21799/86129/Evidentiary_issues_oral_tradition_evidence.pdf |access-date=25 January 2022}}

The Supreme Court of Canada ({{langx|fr|Cour suprême du Canada}}) is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeal in the Canadian justice system. Parliament created it by Act of Parliament in 1875, as a "general court of appeal for Canada".{{cite book|author=Ian Bushnell|title=The Federal Court of Canada: A History, 1875–1992|url=https://archive.org/details/federalcourtofca0000bush|url-access=registration|year=1997|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-4207-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/federalcourtofca0000bush/page/234 234]–237}} Prior to 1949, cases could be appealed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the United Kingdom, and some cases bypassed the Supreme Court of Canada entirely.

Other than the Supreme Court, the Canadian court system is divided into two classes of courts:{{cite book|author=Peter H. Russell|title=Canada's Trial Courts: Two Tiers Or One?|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sv_dIhD8Qr4C&pg=PA32|year=2007|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-9323-3|page=32}} superior courts of general jurisdiction, and courts of limited jurisdiction, sometimes referred to as inferior courts. The superior courts, created and maintained by the provinces, are divided into superior courts of original jurisdiction and superior courts of appeal. These courts are sometimes also referred to as "Section 96" courts, in reference to s. 96 of the Constitution Act, 1867, which grants the federal government the power to appoint the judges of these courts. As courts of general jurisdiction, the provincial superior courts of original jurisdiction have jurisdiction over all matters, under both federal and provincial law, unless the matter has been assigned to some other court or administrative agency by a statute passed by the appropriate legislative body. The superior courts of original jurisdiction have an extensive civil jurisdiction, under both federal and provincial laws. Under the Criminal Code, a federal statute, they have jurisdiction over the most serious criminal offences, such as murder.{{cite book|author1=Michel Proulx|author2=David Layton|title=Ethics and Canadian criminal law|year=2001|publisher=Irwin Law|isbn=978-1-55221-044-4|page=153}} They also hear appeals from the Provincial Courts in criminal matters and some civil matters. A further appeal normally lies to superior court of appeal, the highest court in each province.{{cite book|author= International Business Publications, USA|title=Canada Company Laws and Regulations Handbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WDmVxGCfVDcC&pg=PA36|year=2008|publisher=Int'l Business Publications|isbn=978-1-4330-6959-8|page=36}}

The provinces also can establish courts of limited jurisdiction, whose jurisdiction is limited solely to what is included in the statutory grant of jurisdiction. These courts are often called "Provincial Courts", even though the superior courts established by the provinces are also provincial courts. The Provincial Courts have an extensive criminal jurisdiction under the Criminal Code, a federal statute, and also typically have a limited civil jurisdiction in matters under provincial jurisdiction, such as small claims and some family matters. The judges of the Provincial Courts are appointed by the provincial governments.{{cite book|author=Gerhard Robbers|title=Encyclopedia of World Constitutions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M3A-xgf1yM4C&pg=PA169|year=2006|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-0-8160-6078-8|page=169}}

There are also additional federal courts established by Parliament, which have a specialised jurisdiction in certain areas of federal law. These courts are the Federal Court of Appeal, the Federal Court, the Tax Court of Canada, and the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada.

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• {{cite book|editor1=Calvin S. Goldman |editor2=John D. Bodrug|title=Competition Law of Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hqtjVdcc1h8C&pg=PP1|year=2009|publisher=Juris Publishing, Inc.|isbn=978-1-57823-096-9}}
• Ignace, Marianne & Ignace, Ronald E (2017). Secwépemc People, Land, and Laws – Yerí7 re Stsq'ey's-kucw. McGill-Queen's University Press. {{ISBN|0773551301}}.
• {{cite book|author=Frederick Lee Morton|title=Law, Politics and the Judicial Process in Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dj_4_H35nmYC&pg=PP1|year=2002|publisher=University of Calgary Press|isbn=978-1-55238-046-8}}
• Manuel, Arthur; Derrickson, Ronald M. (afterword); Klein, Naomi (foreword) (2015). Unsettling Canada: A National Wake-Up Call. Between The Lines. {{ISBN|978-1771131766}}.
• {{cite book|author=D. M. McRae|title=The Canadian Yearbook of International Law: Annuaire Canadien de Droit International|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QhCuC4I2W3YC&pg=PP1|year=2008|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=978-0-7748-5826-7}}
• {{cite book|author=Richard Moon|title=Law and Religious Pluralism in Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ah66SQsk4hAC&pg=PP1|year=2008|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=978-0-7748-5853-3}}
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• {{cite book|author=Margaret Ann Wilkinson|title=Genealogy and the Law in Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bNZWyI8fHFAC&pg=PA1|year=2010|publisher=Dundurn|isbn=978-1-77070-585-2}}

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• [https://web.archive.org/web/20051224062552/http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/dept/pub/just/index.html Canada's Justice System – Department of Justice]
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