Richard Wagner (; born April 2, 1957) is a Canadian jurist serving as the 18th and current Chief Justice of Canada since 2017. He previously served as a puisne justice of the Quebec Court of Appeal (2011–2012) and of the Supreme Court of Canada (2012–2017). For several months in 2021, following Julie Payette's resignation as Canada's governor general, Wagner was the

administrator of the government of Canada Administrator of the Government of Canada () is the title used by the individual performing the duties of Governor General of Canada – the federal viceregal representative – while the office is vacant or its incumbent is otherwise unable to p ...

as well as chief justice.

Early life

Wagner was born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Quebec, to a

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

Catholic family as the son of Gisèle (née Normandeau) and Claude Wagner, a former member of Parliament and senator.Quebec Court of Appeal
The Honourable Richard Wagner
Retrieved October 2, 2012. He studied at the Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf in Montreal before receiving a bachelor of social science degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

from the

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 ...

in 1978. He received his Licentiate in Law ( LL.L.) – a Quebec Civil Law equivalent of the Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) – from the same institution in 1979.

Career

Private practice and early judicial career

In 1980, Wagner was called to the Quebec Bar, and began practice at the Montreal law firm Lavery, de Billy (formerly Lavery, O'Brien and Lavery, Johnston, Clark, Carrière, Mason & Associés). His practice centred on real estate, commercial litigation and professional liability insurance. He was appointed to the Superior Court of Quebec for the district of Montreal on September 24, 2004. On February 3, 2011, he was elevated to the Court of Appeal of Quebec.

Supreme Court of Canada

On October 2, 2012, Prime Minister Stephen Harper nominated him to the Supreme Court of Canada to replace retiring Justice Marie Deschamps.

CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...

(October 2, 2012)
"Quebec judge Richard Wagner nominated to Supreme Court"
. Retrieved October 2, 2012. His appointment was confirmed on October 5, 2012. On December 3, 2012, a ceremony was held for Wagner's appointment in the Supreme Court of Canada courtroom. The event was attended by Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, the federal minister of justice and attorney general, Rob Nicholson, and the Quebec deputy minister of justice, Nathalie G. Drouin. On December 12, 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Wagner as Beverly McLachlin's successor as chief justice of Canada. In 2023, Wagner was criticized for his handling of the complaint against puisne judge Russell Brown, which led to the latter's resignation. Brown's lawyer cast doubt on Wagner's assertion that Brown had agreed to step aside from the Court during the investigation. In 2024, Wagner was criticized by lawyers for having a bust of himself exhibited inside the Supreme Court building. The court refused to disclose the identity of the person who paid for the bust, which raised concerns about the court's transparency. Some also said that it was improper for a sitting judge to have a bust of himself exhibited publicly. Wagner was also criticized for excessive foreign travel as chief justice, as well as overstepping the court's constitutional role.

Administrator of Canada

On January 23, 2021, Wagner became Administrator of the Government of Canada following Governor General Julie Payette's resignation in response to a workplace harassment investigation. By virtue of royal letters patent issued in 1947, the chief justice of Canada is the ''ex officio'' principal deputy to the governor general, and may act as governor general when the office is vacant. Only justices of the Supreme Court of Canada are authorized to perform federal viceregal duties on an acting basis. He ceased to hold office as administrator on July 26, 2021, following Mary Simon's appointment as governor general. Serving for six months, Wagner was the longest-serving administrator of Canada in history.

Personal life

Wagner is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

."Richard Wagner". ''Canadian Who's Who 2014-2015''. Toronto: Third Sector Publishing, 2015. Wagner's father Claude was also a jurist. His grandfather was a German Jewish immigrant originally from

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. Wagner has two children who are also lawyers.

Honours

Coat of arms

Scholastic

;Honorary degrees

Memberships and fellowships

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Richard 1957 births Judges in Quebec Living people University of Ottawa alumni Lawyers from Montreal Canadian people of German-Jewish descent Canadian Roman Catholics University of Ottawa Faculty of Law alumni Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Chief justices of Canada 21st-century Canadian judges