Canada Case Law

Independent NS Initiative v. Elections Nova Scotia

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

The Application for Judicial Review is dismissed because it was brought after the limitation period under Rule 7.05 had run (communication occurred in April 2024) and it amounts to a collateral attack and abuse of process in light of Justice Murray's prior, final decision in PtH 538503 which addressed timeliness and refused to extend time; mandamus was not available and the factual record did not justify reopening issues already decided.

Source excerpt

• Judicial review
• Limitation periods
• Collateral attack
• Abuse of process
• Mandamus
• Standing

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Quebec (Attorney General) v. Lalande

Court

Supreme Court of Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed Quebec’s appeal over an electoral map law, holding the Act to interrupt the electoral division delimitation process was not minimally impairing under s. 1.

• Right to vote
• Effective representation
• Electoral boundary delimitation
• Oakes test
• Minimal impairment
• Judicial deference to legislature

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Yan. v. Canada (Chief Electoral Officer)

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The Ontario Court of Appeal held that fresh leave was required for an appeal by a vexatious litigant, granted leave only for the costs motion, and ordered no costs.

• Vexatious litigant leave (s.140 cja)
• Abandonment of appeal
• Costs for abandoned appeal
• Statutory interpretation (canada elections act s.65(i))
• Mootness
• Procedural rules on notices and leave

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Fair Voting BC v. Canada (Attorney General)

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The Single Member Plurality federal electoral system does not infringe s.3 or s.15(1) of the Charter because s.3 protects the right to participate in the electoral process rather than any particular distributive electoral outcome, and the appellants failed to establish the requisite causal link showing SMP creates or contributes to a disproportionate adverse impact on protected groups; therefore the appeal is dismissed.

Source excerpt

• Right to vote (s.3)
• Equality (s.15)
• Proportional representation vs. single member plurality
• Adverse impact discrimination
• Standards of review and deference
• Role of expert social science evidence

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Steinhauer v. Saddle Lake Cree Nation

Court

Federal Court

The Federal Court stayed a decision removing Chief Dale Steinhauer, reinstated her as Chief, added interim governance directions, and awarded costs.

• Interim injunction
• Ancillary orders
• Custom election regulations
• Band governance
• Quorum
• Costs

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Randhawa v. Boegman

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court granted a sealing order and publication ban protecting voters’ names and identifying information in an election petition, subject to later review.

• Sealing order
• Publication ban
• Open court principle
• Voter privacy
• Judicial recount
• Electoral offences

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Advance Party of Canada v. Canada (Elections)

Court

Federal Court

The Federal Court dismissed an appeal from an order striking a statement of claim. It found no reviewable error and awarded costs of $1,260.

• Pleadings
• Motion to strike
• Vexatious litigation
• Leave to amend
• Standard of review
• Costs

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Rock c. Labrie

Court

Federal Court of Appeal

The Court upheld the Federal Court’s application of the reasonableness standard and found the Committee reasonably interpreted article 3.9 as addressing vacancy/dismissal of an incumbent rather than pre-election eligibility; the Committee reasonably concluded it lacked jurisdiction to apply 3.9 to candidacy and that the appellant failed to prove a reasonable apprehension of bias. The appeal is dismissed with costs.

Source excerpt

• Standard of review - reasonableness
• Eligibility to stand for election
• Reasonable apprehension of bias
• Interpretation of electoral code

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Ontario (Attorney General) v. Working Families Coalition (Canada) Inc.

Court

Supreme Court of Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada held that Ontario’s 12-month pre-writ third-party political advertising cap infringed s. 3 and was not justified under s. 1.

• Right to vote (s.3)
• Third party political advertising
• Spending limits
• Section 1 justification (oakes)
• Notwithstanding clause (s.33)
• Right-to-vote

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Bearspaw First Nation v. Lefthand

Court

Federal Court of Appeal

The appeal is dismissed because it was not plain and obvious that the judicial review application was premature: a fair reading of the Election Regulations (notably s.10.2) left open whether internal appeal rights to the Stoney Tribal Council under s.23 existed, the JP Morgan 'plain and obvious' threshold was correctly applied, and the Associate Judge properly exercised discretion in admitting limited affidavit material, so the motion to strike was rightly dismissed.

Source excerpt

• Prematurity
• Exhaustion of remedies
• Judicial review
• Charter s.15 equality rights
• Motions to strike
• Evidentiary rulings on affidavits

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