Sheilah Martin
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Sheilah L. Martin (born May 31, 1956) is a puisne justice 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 ...
, having served in that role since 2017. She was nominated to the court by Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...
on November 29, 2017. Before her appointment to Canada's highest court, Martin had served on the Court of Appeal of Alberta, the Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories, and the Court of Appeal of Nunavut since 2016, and the
Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta The Court of King's Bench of Alberta (abbreviated in citations as ABKB or Alta. K.B.) is the superior trial court of the Canadian province of Alberta. During the reign of Elizabeth II, it was named Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta. The Court w ...
from 2005 to 2016.


Early life and education

Martin was born and raised 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 ...
. She earned a
Bachelor of Civil Law Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL or B.C.L.; ) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge; at Oxford, the BCL contin ...
and a Bachelor of Common Law from
McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...
in 1981. She then moved to
Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
to pursue her career. Martin was called to the Alberta Bar in 1989, and has mainly practiced in the province since. Martin earned a
Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...
from the
University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...
in 1983. Between 1982 and 1986, she worked as a researcher and law professor at the
University of Calgary {{Infobox university , name = University of Calgary , image = University of Calgary coat of arms without motto scroll.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , former ...
. Martin earned her Doctorate of Juridical Science from the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
in 1991. She then served as acting dean and then permanent dean of the University of Calgary's Faculty of Law from 1991 to 1996.


Career


Early legal career

Martin practiced corporate, commercial, criminal, and constitutional law from 1996 until she left Code Hunter LLP after her appointment as a judge in 2005. She also worked
pro bono ( English: 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. The term traditionally referred to provision of legal services by legal professionals for people who a ...
for the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) and the Alberta Association of Sexual Assault Centres in cases that reached the Supreme Court. Martin also worked on the
Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA; , ) is an agreement between the government of Canada and approximately 86,000 Indigenous peoples in Canada who at some point were enrolled as children in the Canadian Indian residential sc ...
, and on the team that won compensation in the wrongful conviction case of David Milgaard. Over the years, Martin has received numerous awards, including the Distinguished Service Award for Legal Scholarship, the Law Society of Alberta’s Certificate of Merit, and the YWCA’s Advancement of Women Award.


Court of King’s Bench and Court of Appeal of Alberta

In 2005, Martin was appointed as judge to the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta in
Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
. Since 2009, she had also served as a deputy judge for the Supreme Court of Yukon. As a trial judge, she was one of the first judges in Canada to permit court journalists to use instant messaging in the courtroom while proceedings were ongoing. In March 2016, Martin issued the first judicial approval in Canada for a person requesting assisted death after the Supreme Court's decision in '' Carter v Canada (AG)''. She allowed the assisted death for a woman diagnosed with
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, Terminal illness, terminal neurodegenerative disease, neurodegenerative disorder that results i ...
, and held the hearing closed to the public and media to respect her privacy. Martin decided that statements in support of the application from two doctors were sufficient, a decision which rejected guidelines from the
Supreme Court of British Columbia The Supreme Court of British Columbia is the superior trial court for the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Court hears civil and criminal law cases as well as appeals from the Provincial Court of British Columbia. There are 90 judici ...
and the
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. ...
that more statements were required. Martin also held that no psychiatric assessment on the day of death was necessary, and that the applicant's request should not fail on technical or legalistic grounds. Martin also ruled that the ruling would apply across Canada, which allowed the applicant to travel out of province in order to fulfill her wish of assisted death. In June 2016, Martin was appointed by Prime Minister Trudeau to the Court of Appeal of Alberta, the Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories, and the Court of Appeal of Nunavut.


Supreme Court

Martin was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on December 18, 2017.


Personal life

Martin was married to Hersh Wolch, a defence lawyer she met at a law conference, from 2000 until his death in 2017.


References


External links


Supreme Court of Canada profile


{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Sheilah Living people Anglophone Quebec people Canadian women judges Judges in Alberta Judges in the Northwest Territories Judges in Yukon Judges in Nunavut Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada Lawyers from Montreal 21st-century Canadian judges 21st-century Canadian women judges 1956 births