OTTAWA, Ontario – Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today launched the process to select the next justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, who will fill the vacancy created by the upcoming retirement of Justice Michael J. Moldaver.
Applications from qualified candidates will be accepted until May 13, 2022.
Prime minister Trudeau also announced Wade MacLauchlan, former premier of Prince Edward Island, as chair and member of the Independent Advisory Board for Supreme Court of Canada Judicial appointments. This non-partisan board is responsible for identifying candidates who are jurists of the highest calibre, functionally bilingual, and representative of the diversity of our country.
After the application period closes, the advisory board will review applications and submit a shortlist of highly qualified candidates to the prime minister for consideration.
Justice Moldaver was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada from the Ontario Court of Appeal in 2011. In recognition of the convention of regional representation, the process will be open to all qualified applicants from Ontario.
“The Supreme Court of Canada plays a critical role in Canada’s democracy. This open, transparent, and independent process we are launching today will identify esteemed Canadian legal minds to serve at the highest court of our country. I wish to take this opportunity to thank Justice Moldaver for his service over the past decade as a justice of the Supreme Court, and congratulate him on his distinguished judicial career that has spanned more than three decades. I also wish to thank the Right Honourable Kim Campbell for her service in chairing the Advisory Board over the past six years,” said Trudeau, prime minister of Canada.