Find Canadian Case Law
This guide covers
A Case is...
- a decision a judge renders after hearing all of the arguments in a dispute. The decision may include a lot of detail about the case (key facts, witnesses, etc.), but it does not generally include a script of the actual testimony.
- Decisions are published in case-law reporters. Some reporters focus on a specific subject (e.g., criminal cases). Others focus on a specific jurisdiction (e.g., Ontario cases regardless of the subject).
- Not all cases are reported. Significant cases can, however, be published in more than one reporter.
- Case-law reporters are commonly cited by their abbreviations (e.g., C.R.R. stands for the Canadian Rights Reporter).
Four Ways to Find Citations to Cases
- Note key cases cited in footnotes and bibliographies of books and articles on your topic.
- Browse indexes to the key case law reporters in your subject area (see the list below).
- Use a case digesting service. Examples include:
- Canadian Abridgment, MILLS Periodicals (3rd floor) KE 173.C35
- Canadian Charter of Rights Annotated, MILLS Reference (2nd floor) KE 4381 .A29C36
- Brown & Beatty's Canadian Labour Arbitration, INNIS Reference KE 3206 .B7
- Search databases containing Canadian case law. Examples include:
BestCase - Search for Canadian cases by word or phrase, catchline, date, citation, party name, judge, case law reporter, and more.
CanLII (Canadian Legal Information Institute) - Browse or search for Canadian cases by word, name, citation, date, jurisdiction, etc.- LexisNexis Academic - For Canadian cases, select International Legal > then Canadian cases in the left navigation menu. Search by word or phrase, case name, citation, date, summary, jurisdiction, court and/or judge.
- Lancaster House Online Database - Contains information on cases dealing with labour, employment and human rights issues in Canada. Search by keyword, date and/or jurisdiction.
Canadian Case Law Reporters at McMaster
| Case Law Reporter | Online Format | Paper Format | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date Coverage | Full-text Access via | Date Coverage | Location / Call No. | |
| Alberta Civil Decisions cited as: Alta. D. | 1979-2007; for later decisions see A.C.W.S. | BestCase | - | - |
| Alberta Criminal Decisions cited as: Alta. D. Crim. | 1979-2007; for later decisions see W.C.B. | BestCase | - | - |
| Alberta Judgments cited as: A.J. | 1954-current; selected significant decisions 1911-1953 | LexisNexis | - | - |
| All Canada Weekly Summaries & Decisions cited as: A.C.W.S. | 1977-current | BestCase | - | - |
| British Columbia. Civil Decisions cited as: B.C.D. Civ. | 1977-current | BestCase | - | - |
| British Columbia Criminal Decisions cited as: B.C.D. Crim. | 1977-2007; for later decisions see W.C.B. | BestCase | - | - |
| British Columbia Labour Arbitration Decisions cited as: B.C.D.L.A. | 1982-current | BestCase | - | - |
| British Columbia Labour Relations Board Decisions cited as: B.C.L.R.B. | 1979-current | BestCase | - | - |
| British Columbia and Yukon Judgments cited as: B.C.J. and Y.J. | B.C. - partial coverage 1867-current; Yukon - partial coverage 1970-current | LexisNexis | - | - |
| Canada Industrial Relations Board Decisions cited as: C.I.R.B.D. | 1973-current | LexisNexis | 1975-2001 | MILLS GovPubs (2nd floor) CA1 L 100-A56 |
| Canadian Criminal Cases cited as: C.C.C. | 1898-current | BestCase | - | - |
| Canadian Human Rights Reporter cited as: C.H.R.R. | 1980-current | CHRR Online | 1980-2004 | MILLS (3rd floor) KE 4381 .A6C3 |
| Canadian Labour Arbitration Summaries & Decisions cited as: C.L.A.S. | 1986-current | BestCase | - | - |
| Canadian Labour Law Cases cited as: C.L.L.C. | 1946-current | BusinessWorks | - | - |
| Canadian Labour Relations Board Reports cited as: C.L.R.B.R. | - | - | 1974 -current | MILLS (3rd floor) KE .C4 |
| Canadian Rights Reporter cited as: C.R.R. | - | - | 1982-current | MILLS (3rd floor) JC 599 .C3C36 |
| Charter of Rights Decisions cited as: C.R.D. | 1961-2007; for later decisions see A.C.W.S. | BestCase | - | - |
| Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada cited as: C.M.A.J. | 1975-current | LexisNexis | ||
| Criminal Reports cited as: C.R. | - | - | 1967-1992 | MILLS (3rd floor) KE .C752 |
| Dominion Law Reports cited as: D.L.R. | 1912-current | BestCase | 1912-2008 | MILLS Periodicals K .D65 |
| Exchequer Court Reports cited as: Ex. C.R. | 1877-1971 | LexisNexis | 1875-1970 | MILLS GovPubs (2nd floor) CA1 J 41-C13 |
| Federal Court of Appeal Decisions cited as: F.C.A.D. | 1980-1999; for later decisions see A.C.W.S. | BestCase | - | - |
| Federal Court of Canada cited as: F.C.A. (Appeal Division) cited as: Fed. Ct. Appeal and Fed. Ct. Trial in LexisNexis | [1988-current] | Federal Court of Appeal CanLII: (Appeal Division) LexisNexis | - | - |
| Federal Court Judgments cited as: F.C.J. | 1971-current | LexisNexis | - | - |
| Federal Court Reports cited as: F.C. , C.F. and F.C.R. | [1990-current] | Federal Court of Canada Federal Judicial Affairs Canada LexisNexis | 1971- current | MILLS GovPubs (2nd floor) CA1 J 65-F21 |
| Jugements du Quebec cited as: J.Q. | 1951-current; selected significant decisions 1883-1950 | LexisNexis | - | - |
| Labour Arbitration Cases cited as: L.A.C. | 1948-current | BestCase | 1948-2001 | MILLS (3rd floor) HD 5507 .L2 |
| Land Compensation Reports | 1971-current | BestCase | - | - |
| The Lawyers Weekly Digests cited as: T.L.W.D. | 1986-current | LexisNexis | - | - |
| Manitoba Civil Decisions cited as: Man. D. | 1978-1999; for later decisions see A.C.W.S. | BestCase | - | - |
| Manitoba Criminal Decisions cited as: Man. D. Crim. | 1978-1999; for later decisions see W.C.B. | BestCase | - | - |
| Manitoba Judgments cited as: M.J. | 1960-current; selected significant decisions 1896-1959 | LexisNexis | - | - |
| NAFTA Panel Review Decisions | 1995-current | LexisNexis | - | - |
| New Brunswick Judgments cited as: N.B.J. | 1947-current; selected significant decisions 1908-1946 | LexisNexis | - | - |
| Newfoundland and Labrador Judgments cited as: N.J. | 1970-current; selected significant decisions 1948-1969 | LexisNexis | - | - |
| Northwest Territories Judgments cited as: N.W.T.J. | 1970-current | LexisNexis | ||
| Nova Scotia Judgments cited as: N.S.J. | 1948-current; selected significant decisions 1893-1947 | LexisNexis | - | - |
| Nunavut Judgments cited as: Nu. J. | 1999-current | LexisNexis | ||
| Ontario Judgments cited as: O.J. | 1823-current | LexisNexis | - | - |
| Ontario Labour Relations Board Reports cited as: O.L.R.B.R. | [1971-current] | CanLII | 1961- | MILLS GovPubs (2nd floor) CA2 ON LR-054 |
| Ontario Municipal Board Reports cited as: O.M.B.R. | 1972-current | BestCase | 1982-2008 | MILLS (3rd floor) KEO 866.4 .M86 |
| Ontario Reports cited as: O.R. | 1931-current | LexisNexis | 1901-1959 (microcard) 1960-current | MILLS (3rd floor) KE. O62a |
| Pay Equity Reports cited as: P.E.R. | - | - | 1990-current | MILLS GovPubs (2nd floor) CA2 ON L270-P22 |
| Prince Edward Island Judgments cited as: P.E.I.J. | 1977-current; selected significant decisions 1922-1969 | LexisNexis | - | - |
| Privy Council Judgments | 1873-1959 | LexisNexis | - | - |
| Public Service Labour Relations Board cited as: P.S.L.R.B. formerly Public Service Staff Relations Board cited as: P.S.S.R.B. | [1996-current] | Public Service Labour Relations Board | 1982-2004 | MILLS GovPubs (2nd floor) CA1 CS 25-D21 |
| Recueil des decisions des Cour federales cited as: F.C.R. and R.C.F. | 1971-current | LexisNexis | 1971-current | MILLS GovPubs CA1 J 65-F21 |
| Saskatchewan Civil Decisions cited as: Sask. D. | 1980-2007; for later decisions see A.C.W.S. | BestCase | - | - |
| Saskatchewan Criminal Decisions cited as: Sask. D. Crim. | 1980-2007; for later decisions see W.C.B. | BestCase | - | - |
| Saskatchewan Judgments cited as: S.J. | 1959-current | LexisNexis | - | - |
| Supreme Court of Canada Decisions or Judgments cited as: S.C.C. or S.C.C.D. or S.C.J. | 1978-current 1877-current [1876-current] [1876-current] | BestCase LexisNexis CanLII Supreme Court of Canada | - | - |
| Supreme Court Reports [official] cited as: S.C.R. | 1876-current [1876-current] [1876-current] | LexisNexis CanLII Supreme Court of Canada | 1867-current | MILLS GovPubs (2nd floor) CA1 J21 - L16 |
| Supreme Court of Canada Rulings on Applications for Leave to Appeal and Other Motions cited as: S.C.C.A. | 1981 to current; selected significant decisions 1962-1980 | LexisNexis | ||
| Tax Court of Canada Judgments cited as: T.C.C. | [1996-current] 1986-current [1996-current] | CanLII LexisNexis Tax Court of Canada | - | - |
| Weekly Criminal Bulletin Decisions cited as: W.C.B. | 1977-current | BestCase | - | - |
| Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal Reporter cited as: W.S.I.A.T. Reporter formerly Workers' Compensation Appeals Tribunal Reporter cited as: W.C.A.T. Reporter | 1986-current
| 1990-current | MILLS GovPubs (2nd floor) CA2ONL 250-R27 | |
NOTES:
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More links to Canadian Case Law
- Links to Legal Resources - Primary Sources - Judicial Decisions (Bora Laskin Law Library - University of Toronto)
- CanLII (Canadian Legal Information Institute) (Federation of Law Societies of Canada)
Last Reviewed: May 17, 2012
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