Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the

law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the ''Journal of Law and Social Policy'', and the ''

Osgoode Hall Law Journal The ''Osgoode Hall Law Journal'' () is a law review affiliated with Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, Toronto, Canada Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most ...

''. A variety of J.D. LL.M. and Ph.D. degrees in law are available. The law school's alumni include three Canadian prime ministers, four

Attorneys General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

, eight premiers of Ontario, four

Mayors of Toronto In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

, eleven

Justices ''Justice'' (abbreviation: ame ''J.'' and other variations) is an honorific style and title traditionally used to describe a jurist who is currently serving or has served on a supreme court or some equal position. In some countries, a justice ma ...

of the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...

, four of whom were Chief Justices, and one

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nominee. The current dean of the law school is Trevor C.W. Farrow.

History

Osgoode Hall was named for

William Osgoode William Osgoode (March 1754 – January 17, 1824) was the first Chief Justice of Upper Canada (now known as Ontario, Canada). Life and career He was born William Osgood in London, England, in 1754 to William Osgood (died 1767). His family wa ...

, an

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

graduate and barrister of

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

. He was the first person to serve as the chief justice of

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

. The law school traces its origins back to the 1820s, and it counts the first Canadian prime minister (Sir John A. Macdonald) among its graduates. It was reorganized in 1889, and the

Law Society of Upper Canada The Law Society of Ontario (LSO; ) is the law society responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 1797 as the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC; ), its name was changed by statu ...

permanently established the law school on the site now known as

Osgoode Hall Osgoode Hall is a landmark building in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original -storey building was started in 1829 and finished in 1832 from a design by John Ewart (architect), John Ewart and William Warren Baldwin. The structure is n ...

. At the time, it was the only law school in Ontario, and this remained the case until the establishment of the

University of Toronto Faculty of Law The University of Toronto Faculty of Law (U of T Law, UToronto Law) is the law school of the University of Toronto, located at the University of Toronto#St. George campus, St. George campus in Downtown Toronto. It is the top ranked common law facu ...

in 1949. Ontario lawyers were originally required to attend Osgoode Hall in order to practise in the province. In 1855, the Law Society began requiring members to attend lectures given at Osgoode Hall (the building). In 1862, a law school opened in that building, only to close in 1868. It frequently opened and closed throughout the late 19th century. The law school at Osgoode Hall was only titled "Osgoode Hall Law School" in March 1924, when the Law Society of Upper Canada formally assigned it that name. The school signed an agreement of affiliation with York University in 1965. It relocated from the Osgoode Hall building in

downtown Toronto Downtown Toronto is the main city centre of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Street to the nor ...

to York University's

Keele Campus The Keele Campus is the main campus of York University in the North York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It occupies roughly 1 square kilometre of land and is situated between Jane Street to the west, Keele Street to the east, Steeles Ave ...

in 1968.

Rankings and reputation

1st year class - Osgoode Hall Law School - Toronto Ont - 1944

Osgoode Hall is one of the most elite law schools in Canada. Times Higher Education ranked Osgoode Hall Law School 43 in the world in 2021. Its long and distinguished history has led to a lay prestige that is unmatched by any other Canadian law school. In 2022, Osgoode's joint JD/MBA program with the

Schulich School of Business The Schulich School of Business is the business school of York University located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The institution provides undergraduate and graduate degree and diploma programs in business administration, finance, accounting, bus ...

was named among the top 10 business and law programs in North America by FIND MBA. In its most recent rankings, ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

'' magazine has ranked Osgoode second amongst Canadian law schools. In the 2008 rankings published by ''Canadian Lawyer Magazine'', Osgoode was ranked first in Canada, and was awarded high marks for the quality of its professors, flexible curriculum, and the diversity and relevance of course offerings. The faculty has been described as the "strongest in the country," and rank number one in Canada for faculty journal citations. In the 2022-2023 year, 3600 applicants applied for the 290 spots available in the first year program, resulting in an acceptance rate of around 8%. The only North American law school with a lower rate of acceptance is

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

Original building and current facilities

For its first eight decades, Osgoode Hall Law School was located at Osgoode Hall at the corner of Queen Street and University Avenue. The structures at Queen and University (the earliest dating from 1832) are still known as Osgoode Hall. They remain the headquarters of the

, house the

Court of Appeal for Ontario The Court of Appeal for Ontario (frequently mistakenly referred to as the Ontario Court of Appeal) (ONCA is the abbreviation for its neutral citation) is the appellate court for the province of Ontario, Canada. The seat of the court is Osgoode Ha ...

, the Divisional Court of the Superior Court of Justice, the offices of the

Law Society of Ontario The Law Society of Ontario (LSO; ) is the law society responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 1797 as the Law Society of Upper Canada (LS ...

and the Great Library of

the Law Society The Law Society of England and Wales (officially The Law Society) is the professional association that represents solicitors for the jurisdiction of England and Wales. It provides services and support to practising and training solicitors, as ...

. Currently, the law school is located on the Keele Campus of

, in the Toronto suburb of North York. In May 2007, Dean Monahan announced plans for an extensive renovation and extension of Osgoode Hall Law School involving a renovation of the existing building, and the addition of an additional wing. The building was designed by architect Jack Diamond with the construction of the renovated building beginning in the summer of 2009. The project had been majorly funded by a $2.5 million gift by Ignat Kaneff, and the building has been renamed in his honour. The law school is referred to by York as its faculty of law. Osgoode's Professional Development offices and classrooms are based at 1 Dundas Street West in Downtown Toronto, overlooking Yonge-Dundas Square.

Student life

The Legal & Literary Society, Osgoode Hall Law School's official student society, coordinates student activities both on and off campus. The organization also funds the student newspaper, ''Obiter Dicta,'' along with over fifty student clubs, with notable examples including the Osgoode Hall Criminal Law Society and the Osgoode Constitutional Law Society (OCLS), which was founded in 2014. Osgoode hosts Professional Development Programs (OPD) which are located in downtown Toronto at 1 Dundas Street near the original Osgoode Hall building.

Notable alumni

Supreme Court of Canada justices

* John Robert Cartwright, former Chief Justice *

Peter Cory Peter deCarteret Cory, (October 25, 1925 – April 7, 2020) was a puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Canada, from 1989 to 1999. Early life and education Born in Windsor, Ontario, the son of Andrew and Mildred (Beresford Howe) Cory, he was educ ...

, former

Puisne Judge Puisne judge and puisne justice () are terms for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. The term comes from a combination of the two French words, (since, later) and (born) which have been combined as or ; meaning ...

and former Chancellor of York University *Sir

Lyman Duff Sir Lyman Poore Duff, , PC(UK) (7 January 1865 – 26 April 1955) was a Canadian lawyer and judge who served as the eighth Chief Justice of Canada. He was the longest-serving justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, until Beverley McLachlin� ...

, former Chief Justice * Frank Joseph Hughes, former Puisne Judge * Wilfred Judson, former Puisne Judge *

Andromache Karakatsanis Andromache Karakatsanis (born October 3, 1955) is a Canadian jurist. She was nominated to the Supreme Court of Canada by Stephen Harper in October 2011. She is the first Greek-Canadian judge on the Court. Since the retirement of Rosalie Abell ...

, current Puisne Judge *

Patrick Kerwin Patrick Kerwin (October 25, 1889 – February 2, 1963) was a Canadian judge who served as the tenth Chief Justice of Canada from 1954 to 1963 and as a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1935 to 1954. Life and career Patric ...

, former Chief Justice *

Bora Laskin Bora Laskin (October 5, 1912 – March 26, 1984) was a Canadians, Canadian jurist who served as the 14th Chief Justice of Canada, chief justice of Canada from 1973 to 1984 and as a List of justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, puisne just ...

, former Chief Justice * Malcolm Rowe, current Puisne Judge * Wishart Spence, former Puisne Judge * Michelle O'Bonsawin, current Puisne Judge

Other judges

* John Arnup, Moderator for United Church of Canada, Justice at

Ontario Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal for Ontario (frequently mistakenly referred to as the Ontario Court of Appeal) (ONCA is the abbreviation for its neutral citation) is the appellate court for the province of Ontario, Canada. The seat of the court is Osgoode H ...

* George Ethelbert Carter * Kim Carter, Chief Military Judge of the Canadian Forces * (Jack Sydney George) Bud Cullen, Judge at

Federal Court of Canada The Federal Court of Canada, which succeeded the Exchequer Court of Canada in 1971, was a national court of Canada that had limited jurisdiction to hear certain types of disputes arising under the Parliament of Canada, federal government's Canadi ...

* Charles Dubin, former

Chief Justice of Ontario The Court of Appeal for Ontario (frequently mistakenly referred to as the Ontario Court of Appeal) (ONCA is the abbreviation for its neutral citation) is the appellate court for the province of Ontario, Canada. The seat of the court is Osgoode Ha ...

* Daniel Dumais ( LL.M.), Emeritus Lawyer distinction from Barreau du Quebec, Puisne Judge of

Superior Court of Quebec The Superior Court of Quebec () is a superior trial court in the Province of Quebec, in Canada. It consists of 157 judges who are appointed by the federal government. Appeals from this court are taken to the Quebec Court of Appeal. Jurisdicti ...

Asher Grunis Asher Dan Grunis ( ; born January 17, 1945) was the President of the Supreme Court of Israel between 2012 and 2015. He was appointed to the position on February 28, 2012, after the retirement of Dorit Beinisch. He retired from the bench in Januar ...

, President of the

Supreme Court of Israel The Supreme Court of Israel (, Hebrew acronym Bagatz; ) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction. The Supreme Court consists of 15 jud ...

* Sydney Harris (judge), activist lawyer and judge, President of the

Canadian Jewish Congress The Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC; ; ; ) was, for more than ninety years, the main advocacy group for the Jewish community in Canada. Regarded by many as the "Parliament of Canadian Jewry," the Congress was at the forefront of the struggle for Hum ...

* Bill Hastings, Chief Justice of Kiribati, Chief Censor of New Zealand, District Court Judge of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

* Russell G. Juriansz, first South Asian appointed to Ontario Court of Appeal * Harry S. Laforme, Justice at Ontario Court of Appeal * Patrick LeSage, Chief Justice of

Ontario Superior Court of Justice The Superior Court of Justice (French: ''Cour supérieure de justice'') is a superior court in Ontario. The Court sits in 52 locations across the province, including 17 Family Court locations, and consists of over 300 federally appointed judges. ...

* Malcolm Archibald Macdonald, Chief Justice of British Columbia *

Mark MacGuigan Mark Rudolph MacGuigan (17 February 1931 – 12 January 1998) was a Canadian academic and politician. Born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, the son of Mark Rudolph MacGuigan and Agnes Violet Trainor, he was educated at Saint Du ...

, Attorney General of Canada, Justice of the

Federal Court of Appeal The Federal Court of Appeal () is a Canadian appellate court that hears cases concerning federal matters. History Section 101 of the Constitution Act, 1867 empowers the Parliament of Canada to establish "additional Courts for the better Admi ...

* Goldwyn Arthur Martin, QC, Justice at Ontario Court of Appeal *

Roy McMurtry Roland Roy McMurtry (May 31, 1932 – March 18, 2024) was a Canadian lawyer, judge and politician in Ontario. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1985, serving in the cabinet of Bill Dav ...

, Chief Justice of Ontario,

Attorney General of Ontario The attorney general of Ontario is the Attorney general, chief legal adviser to Monarchy in Ontario, His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario and, by extension, the Government of Ontario. The attorney general is a senior member of the Executi ...

, Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom *

James Chalmers McRuer James Chalmers McRuer (August 23, 1890 – October 6, 1985) was a Canadian lawyer, judge, commissioner and author in Ontario. Biography Born in Ayr, Oxford County, Ontario, he received his law education from the Osgoode Hall Law School a ...

, Ontario Court of Appeal, Chief Justice at High Court of Justice of Ontario * Charles Terrence Murphy, Judge at Ontario Superior Court, President of North Atlantic Assembly *

Willy Mutunga Willy Munyoki Mutunga, Order of the Golden Heart of Kenya, EGH (born 16 June 1946) is a Kenyan lawyer, intellectual, reform activist, and was the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth Special Envoy to the Maldives. He is also an active member o ...

, former Chief Justice of Kenya * Dennis O'Connor, Associate Chief Justice of Ontario * George Bligh O'Connor,

Chief Justice of Alberta The Court of Appeal of Alberta (frequently referred to as Alberta Court of Appeal or ABCA) is a Canadian appellate court that serves as the highest appellate court in the jurisdiction of Alberta, subordinate to the Supreme Court of Canada. Jur ...

from 1950 to 1956 * James O'Reilly, Federal Court Judge * Coulter Osborne, arbitrator, Associate Chief Justice of Ontario * John Richard, NAFTA Adjudicator, Chief Justice of the

* Lorne Sossin, Justice at the

* Charles Allan Stuart, Justice of the Supreme Court of Alberta * Michael Tulloch, Justice at the

* Karen M. Weiler, past Judge

Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada The Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada (CMAC) () hears appeals from Courts-martial of Canada ("court martial, courts martial"). In Canada, courts martial are presided over by independent military judges from the office of the Chief Military J ...

, Justice at Ontario Court of Appeal * Sharon A. Williams, Judge

ad litem ''Ad litem'' (Latin: "for the suit") is a term used in law to refer to the appointment by a court of one party to act in a lawsuit on behalf of another party such as a child or an incapacitated adult, who is deemed incapable of representing him ...

at the

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes in the Yugoslav Wars, war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to tr ...

* Warren Winkler, Chief Justice of Ontario

Prime Ministers

* Sir John A MacDonald *

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who was the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Liberal ...

Arthur Meighen Arthur Meighen ( ; June 16, 1874 – August 5, 1960) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Canada from 1920 to 1921 and from June to September 1926. He led the Conservative Party from 1920 to 1926 and ...

Premiers

Bill Davis William Grenville Davis, (July 30, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985. Behind Oliver Mowat, Davis was the List of premiers of Ontario by time in office, second-longes ...

, 18th

Premier of Ontario The premier of Ontario () is the head of government of Ontario. Under the Westminster system, the premier governs with the confidence of a majority the elected Legislative Assembly; as such, the premier typically sits as a member of Provincia ...

* George Drew, 14th Premier of Ontario *

Ernie Eves Ernest Larry Eves (born June 17, 1946) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 23rd premier of Ontario from 2002 to 2003. A Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, Progressive Conservative, he took over the premiership up ...

, 23rd Premier of Ontario *

Howard Ferguson George Howard Ferguson (June 18, 1870 – February 21, 1946) was the ninth premier of Ontario, from 1923 to 1930. He was a Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1905 to ...

, 9th Premier of Ontario *

Leslie Frost Leslie Miscampbell Frost (September 20, 1895 – May 4, 1973) was a politician in Ontario, Canada, who served as the province's 16th premier from May 4, 1949, to November 8, 1961. Due to his lengthy tenure, he gained the nickname "Old Man O ...

, 16th Premier of Ontario *

William Howard Hearst Sir William Howard Hearst, (February 15, 1864 – September 29, 1941) was the seventh premier of Ontario from 1914 to 1919. Hearst was born in Bruce County, Canada West. He practiced law in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario before being voted to p ...

, 7th Premier of Ontario *

Rachel Notley Rachel Anne Notley (born April 17, 1964) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who was the 17th premier of Alberta from 2015 to 2019 and leader of the Alberta New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2014 to 2024. Notley was the member of the Le ...

, 17th Premier of Alberta *

John Robarts John Parmenter Robarts (January 11, 1917 – October 18, 1982) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th premier of Ontario from 1961 to 1971. He was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. Early life Roba ...

, 17th Premier of Ontario

Government

Gary Anandasangaree Sathiyasangaree "Gary" Anandasangaree () is a Canadian politician and a lawyer who has been Minister of Public Safety since 2025. A member of the Liberal Party, Anandasangaree was elected to the House of Commons in 2015 and currently serves as ...

Minister of Public Safety The minister of public safety and emergency preparedness () is the minister of the Crown responsible for Public Safety Canada and a member of the Cabinet of Canada. The portfolio succeeded the role of Solicitor General of Canada in 2005. Gary ...

* Todd McCarthy (politician), Member of Provincial Parliament for Durham, Parliamentary Assistant to the President of the Treasury Board, Deputy Government Whip *

John Black Aird John Black Aird (May 5, 1923 – May 6, 1995) was a Canadian lawyer, corporate director, and political figure. He served in the Senate of Canada from 1964 to 1974, and he was Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1980 to 1985. Life and care ...

, former

Lieutenant Governor of Ontario The lieutenant governor of Ontario (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''de l'Ontario'') is the representative in Ontario of the monarch, who operates distinctly within the province but i ...

, Canadian Senator and founding partner of Aird & Berlis LLP *

Lincoln Alexander Lincoln MacCauley Alexander (January 21, 1922 – October 19, 2012) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who became the first Black Canadian to be a Member of Parliament (Canada), member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada, House o ...

, 24th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario * Daniel J. Arbess, member of

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...

* Oliver Mowat Biggar, co-founder of Smart & Biggar, first Chief Electoral Officer of Canada * Leonard Braithwaite, member of Ontario Parliament * Lionel Chevrier, Attorney General of Canada, President of Privy Council of Canada, High Commissioner to the UK * Ward Elcock, Director of

Canadian Security Intelligence Service The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS, ; , ''SCRS'') is a Intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service and security agency of the Government of Canada, federal government of Canada. It is responsible for gathering, processing, a ...

* Gordon Fairweather, Attorney General of New Brunswick, first Chief Commissioner of the

Canadian Human Rights Commission The Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) was established in 1977 by the Government of Canada. It is empowered under the '' Canadian Human Rights Act'' to investigate and to try to settle complaints of discrimination in employment and in the ...

Jim Flaherty James Michael Flaherty (December 30, 1949 – April 10, 2014) was a Canadian politician who served as the federal minister of finance from 2006 to 2014 under Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper. First elected to the Legislative Assemb ...

, Minister of Finance of Canada *

Hugh Guthrie Hugh Guthrie (13 August 1866 – 3 November 1939) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as a minister in the governments of Sir Robert Borden, Arthur Meighen and R. B. Bennett. Biography He was born in Guelph, Canada West, ...

, Attorney General of Canada, Minister of National Defence * Ross Hornby, former Ambassador of Canada to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

* Ron Irwin, former Ambassador to Ireland * James Kelleher, Solicitor General of Canada, Member of the Canadian Senate * Judy LaMarsh, Secretary of State for Canada, broadcaster * Allan Leal, President of the Empire Club of Canada,

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

*Sir James Alexander Lougheed, Calgary businessman and Government Leader in the Canadian Senate * Alexander Malcolm Manson, Attorney General of British Columbia, Judge *

John Matheson John Ross Matheson (14 November 1917 – 27 December 2013) was a Canadian politician, lawyer, and judge, who helped develop both the national flag of Canada and the Order of Canada. Early life John Matheson was born in Arundel, Quebec, th ...

, M.P., Justice of Ontario, helped develop Canada's flag and the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

* John Pallett, Chief Gov't Whip, leader of Canadian delegation to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

* Lawrence Pennell, Solicitor General of Canada * Lionel Perez (politician), Montreal city councilor and member of Union Montreal * Richard Rohmer, aviator, Air Force General, lawyer, author, Honorary Advisor to Chief of Defense Staff *

Dianne Saxe Dianne Saxe, née Shulman (born November 27, 1952), is a Canadian lawyer and politician who was elected to represent Ward 11 University—Rosedale on Toronto City Council following the 2022 municipal election. Before entering politics, Saxe pr ...

, environmental lawyer and scholar, Environmental Commissioner of Ontario * Ian Scott, constitutional lawyer, Attorney General of Ontario *

Jagmeet Singh Jagmeet Singh Jimmy Dhaliwal (born January 2, 1979) is a Canadian former politician who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2017 to 2025 and as the Member of Parliament (Canada), member of Parliament (MP) for Burnaby Sou ...

, Canadian politician, Leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada * Sinclair Stevens, banker, President of the Treasury Board *

John Tory John Howard Tory (born May 28, 1954) is a Canadian lawyer, broadcaster, businessman, and former politician who served as the 65th mayor of Toronto from 2014 to 2023. He served as leader of the Official Opposition in Ontario from 2005 to 2007 ...

, 65th Mayor of Toronto, Former President and CEO of Rogers Media Inc., Former Chairman of the

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division and five in the West Division. The CFL is the highest pr ...

* George Stanley White, former Speaker of the Canadian Senate * James Worrall, Chair of

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based in L ...

Commission on The

Olympic Charter The Olympic Charter is a set of rules and guidelines for the organisation of the Olympic Games, and for governing the Olympic movement. Its last revision was on the 17th of July 2020 during the List of IOC meetings, 136th IOC Session, held by v ...

, President of the

Canadian Olympic Committee The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC; ), also known as Team Canada, is a private nonprofit organization that represents Canada at the International Olympic Committee. It is also a member of the Pan American Sports Organization. History Cana ...

Law

* Austin Cooper, criminal lawyer, defended

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...

in Toronto *

Marlys Edwardh Marlys Anne Edwardh, CM (born 6 March 1950) is a Canadian litigation and civil rights lawyer recognized for upholding the causes of justice and the rights of the wrongfully accused. She was one of the first women to practise criminal law in Canada ...

, civil rights * Fraser Elliott, founder of Stikeman Elliott, President of the

Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; ) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located on Dundas Street, Dundas Street West in the Grange Park (neighbourhood), Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, the museum complex takes up of phys ...

* J. S. Ewart, lawyer, advocate for Canadian independence * Edwin A. Goodman, founding partner of Goodmans *

Randal Graham Randal Graham is a Canadian law professor, novelist, and the Goodmans LLP Faculty Fellow in legal ethics at the University of Western Ontario Faculty of Law. Early life and education Originally from Peterborough, Ontario, Graham earned a Bache ...

, law professor, novelist * Edward Greenspan, criminal lawyer * Gordon Henderson, President, Canadian bar association, Chancellor,

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

* Marie Henein, criminal lawyer, defended

Jian Ghomeshi Jian Ghomeshi (born June 9, 1967) is a Canadian broadcaster, writer, musician, producer and former CBC personality. From 1990 to 2000, he was a vocalist and drummer in the Thornhill-based folk-pop band Moxy Früvous. In the 2000s, he became ...

* Jeffry House, refugee law, war resisters * Gord Kirke, sports and entertainment lawyer * M. David Lepofsky, disability and human rights lawyer * John Rosen, criminal lawyer * Stuart Alexander Henderson, successfully defended Gunanoot

Business

*Sir Edward Wentworth Beatty, president of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

* Marshall A. Cohen, Director at Barrick Gold Corporation &

Toronto-Dominion Bank Toronto-Dominion Bank (), doing business as TD Bank Group (), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The bank was created on February 1, 1955, through the merger of the Bank of ...

, member

Trilateral Commission The Trilateral Commission is a nongovernmental international organization aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America. It was founded in July 1973, principally by American banker and philanthropist David ...

*Dame

Moya Greene Dame Moya Marguerite Greene (born 10 June 1954) is a Canadian businesswoman who was the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Royal Mail from 2010 until 2018, having previously been the CEO of Canada Post. Early life and education Moya Margueri ...

, Former CEO of

Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (, trading as Canada Post (), is a Canadian Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the operating name of the Post Office Department of the Can ...

, Former CEO of

Royal Mail Royal Mail Group Limited, trading as Royal Mail, is a British postal service and courier company. It is owned by International Distribution Services. It operates the brands Royal Mail (letters and parcels) and Parcelforce Worldwide (parcels) ...

* Sergio Marchionne, CEO of

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA), now part of Stellantis, was an Italian-American multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of Car, automobiles, commercial vehicles, List of auto parts, auto parts and production systems. ...

Charles Peter McColough Charles Peter Philip Paul McColough (August 1, 1922 – December 13, 2006) was a Canadian-American businessman who served as the chief executive officer and chairman of the Xerox Corporation. He retired in the late 1980s, after serving over fourt ...

, CEO and Chairman of

Xerox Corporation Xerox Holdings Corporation (, ) is an American corporation that sells print and digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox was the pioneer of the photocopier market, beginning with the introduction of the Xerox ...

, member of

Jagoda Pike Jagoda Pike is a former publisher of the ''Toronto Star'' and former president of the Star Media Group. Effective October 4, 2008, she stepped down as publisher of the ''Toronto Star'' and assumed the role of heading Ontario's bid for the 2015 P ...

, former publisher of the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'' * Arthur Richard Andrew Scace, Chairman of Bank of Nova Scotia, director of

Canadian Opera Company The Canadian Opera Company (COC) is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and one of the largest producers of opera in North America. The COC performs at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performin ...

* Kathleen Taylor, Chair of

Royal Bank of Canada Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; ) is a Canadian multinational Financial institution, financial services company and the Big Five (banks), largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 20 million clients and has more than ...

* John S. D. Tory, founder of

Torys Torys LLP is a Canadian international corporate law firm with offices in Toronto, Calgary, New York City, New York, Montreal and Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax. The firm acts for a wide range of commercial clients and financial institutions in C ...

and Director of A.V. Roe Canada

Arts

Morley Callaghan Edward Morley Callaghan (February 22, 1903 – August 25, 1990) was a Canadian novelist, short story writer, playwright, and Television, TV and radio personality. Biography Of Canadian/English-immigrant parentage,Clara Thomas, ''Canadian No ...

, novelist * Murray Cohl, co-founder of the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

* Jeff Deverett, lecturer and film producer *

Daniel Iron Daniel Iron is a Canadian film and television producer. After his company Foundry Films was acquired by Blue Ice Group, he became president of production of that company. Recognition * 2008 Genie Award for Best Motion Picture - '' Away From Her ...

, film and TV producer * Jerry Levitan,

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

nominee * Tom MacInnes, poet * Aaron Schwartz (Canadian actor)

Science/medicine

* Robert Elgie, Ontario Minister of Labour, became a neurosurgeon after becoming a lawyer

Scholarship

* Payam Akhavan, international human rights * Constance Backhouse, legal scholar and historian, President of the American Society of Legal History * Deborah Coyne, constitutional law and international relations * Giuseppina d'Agostino, intellectual property *

Michael Geist Michael Allen Geist is a Canadian academic, and the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law at the University of Ottawa. He is the editor of four books on copyright law and privacy law, and he edits two newsletters on Canadian infor ...

, internet and privacy law * Colleen Hanycz, principal of

Brescia University College Brescia University College was a Catholic higher education, Catholic Liberal arts college, liberal arts women's college located in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. Affiliated with the University of Western Ontario, Brescia was the la ...

from 2008-2015, current university president of

La Salle University La Salle University () is a private university, private, Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and named for St. Jean-Bapt ...

James C. Hathaway James Hathaway (born 1956) is a Canadian-American scholar of international refugee law and related aspects of human rights and public international law. His work has been frequently cited by the most senior courts of the common law world, and has ...

, international refugee law * Michael Mandel, law professor, international criminal law *Lyal S. Sunga,

international humanitarian law International humanitarian law (IHL), also referred to as the laws of armed conflict or the laws of war, is the law that regulates the conduct of war (''wikt:jus in bello, jus in bello''). It is a branch of international law that seeks to limit ...

international human rights law International human rights law (IHRL) is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. As a form of international law, international human rights law is primarily made up of treaties, ag ...

international criminal law International criminal law (ICL) is a body of public international law designed to prohibit certain categories of conduct commonly viewed as serious atrocities and to make perpetrators of such conduct criminally accountable for their perpetrat ...

. * Paul C. Weiler, Emeritus Professor of Law,

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

Alan Young Alan Young (born Angus Young; November 19, 1919 – May 19, 2016) was a British-born actor. Young is best known for portraying Wilbur Post in the television comedy '' Mister Ed'' (1961–1966) and voicing Disney's Scrooge McDuck for over ...

, law professor, civil liberties * Gus van Harten, law professor, administrative law

Sportspersons

George Dudley George Samuel Dudley (April 19, 1894 – May 8, 1960) was a Canadian ice hockey administrator. He joined the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) executive in 1928, served as its president from 1934 to 1936, and as its treasurer from 1936 to 1960 ...

, inductee of the

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...

and executive for the

Canadian Amateur Hockey Association The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA; ) was the national governing body of amateur ice hockey in Canada from 1914 until 1994, when it merged with Hockey Canada. Its jurisdiction included senior ice hockey leagues and the Allan Cup, ...

Notable professors

Jean-Gabriel Castel Jean-Gabriel Castel (17 September 1928 – 30 December 2023) was a French and Canadian law professor and Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Osgoode Hall Law School of York University,Toronto. ...

, private international law, decorated member of

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

Peter Hogg Peter Wardell Hogg (12 March 1939 – 4 February 2020) was a New Zealand–born Canadian legal scholar and lawyer. He was best known as a leading authority on Canadian constitutional law, with the most academic citations in Supreme Court jurisp ...

, Canadian constitutional law, authored most-cited book at Supreme Court of Canada * Gord Kirke, sports and entertainment lawyer * Deborah McGregor,

Whitefish Bay Whitefish Bay is a large bay on the eastern end of Lake Superior between Michigan, United States, and Ontario, Canada. It is located between Whitefish Point in Michigan and Whiskey Point along the more rugged, largely wilderness Canadian Shield ...

Ojibway The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

environmentalist, educator * Obiora Chinedu Okafor, international and human rights law, also UN Independent Expert on Human Rights and International Solidarity *

David Vaver David Vaver is a lawyer and legal scholar in the field of intellectual property law. He is a professor of law at Osgoode Hall Law School as well as Emeritus Professor of Intellectual Property & Information Technology Law at the University of Oxfor ...

, intellectual property law, also Emeritus Professor at

John Borrows John Borrows (or Kegedonce in Anishinaabe) is a Canadian academic and jurist. He is a full Professor of Law and the Loveland Chair in Indigenous Law at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. He is known as a leading authority on Canadian Indig ...

, Indigenous legal scholar *Angela Swan, contract law scholar, Officer of the Order of Canada *

Leslie Green Leslie William Green (6 February 1875 – 31 August 1908) was an English architect. He is best known for his design of iconic stations constructed on the London Underground railway system in central London during the first decade of the 20th ...

, philosopher and legal scholar specializing in jurisprudence, also Emeritus Professor at

References

Footnotes

*Footnote
Lorne Sossin
Accessed 13 October 2012. *Footnote
Dean of Osgoode 2010
Accessed October 2012.

External links

* {{Authority control 1889 establishments in Ontario Universities and colleges established in 1889 Law schools in Canada York University