The Justice System | Discover Canada Guide

This chapter is about structure: which court sits above which, and who polices what.

Core principles

Canadian criminal law presumes every accused person innocent until proven guilty in a fair and public trial. The rule of law means that everyone, including politicians, police officers, and government officials, is equally subject to the law, with no one above it.

Court structure

The Supreme Court of Canada, based in Ottawa, is the final court of appeal and the highest court in the country; its nine judges are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister. Below it sit the Federal Court and provincial/territorial courts of appeal, and below those, provincial superior and lower courts that handle most day-to-day criminal and civil matters.

Policing structure

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) enforces federal law across the country and acts as the provincial and municipal police force in most provinces and territories under contract, except in Ontario and Quebec, which maintain their own dedicated provincial police forces (the Ontario Provincial Police and the Sûreté du Québec), and except for the many municipalities large enough to run their own independent municipal police services (such as the Toronto Police Service or the Vancouver Police Department).

Juries and civic duty

Serious criminal cases are typically tried before a judge and a jury of twelve citizens, drawn from the community, who decide questions of fact. As covered in the Rights and Responsibilities chapter, jury duty is treated as a civic responsibility, not merely a right, that eligible citizens are expected to fulfill when summoned.