Alberta Premier Smith Says Province Won’t Fund Appointment of New Judges Unless Ottawa Allows More Input on Selection

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says the province will not provide funding for new judicial appointments unless Ottawa allows Alberta more input and influence over who is chosen for provincial courts and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Smith announced the planned withholding of funding in a Jan. 23 letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney and reiterated the province’s position in a Feb. 3 news release.

The letter calls for Alberta to be consulted on future judicial appointments to the Alberta Court of King’s Bench, the Alberta Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada. Smith says this collaboration would help ensure appointments “appropriately reflect Alberta’s distinct legal traditions” and strengthen public confidence in the justice system.

“Alberta’s government will not agree to provide the necessary funding to support any new judicial positions in the province until such engagement and collaboration are provided,” Smith wrote in the letter.

“Providing Alberta with a formal and meaningful role in the appointment process would strengthen public confidence in the administration of justice, promote national unity within Alberta and help ensure judicial decision-making reflects the values and expectations of Albertans.”

Smith has made a series of statements in recent months critical of “activist” courts and “unelected” judges while expressing concerns that courts are undermining the decisions of elected leaders. On a recent edition of her call-in radio show she expressed frustration over an incident where an Edmonton man was released on bail a few days before he allegedly attacked two men while they were at their workplaces.

In addition to calling for Alberta to be given a larger role in determining who is appointed to the courts, Smith’s letter asks that Carney loosen rules on bilingualism for federal judicial appointees.

“The decision to impose functional bilingualism as a requirement for Supreme Court of Canada judges further entrenches systemic barriers and alienation for Western Canadians and does not reflect Canada’s broader linguistic diversity, including the many Canadians who are bilingual in other languages,” Smith wrote.

Minister of Justice Mickey Amery proposed a committee that includes Alberta appointees to help assess and recommend candidates for the King’s Bench and Court of Appeal, and to recommend Supreme Court nominees for ministerial approval before submission to the prime minister.

He noted a similar arrangement exists in Quebec, where a special advisory committee recommends candidates for the three Supreme Court seats reserved for the province. The committee includes members appointed by both the federal government and the province.

Appointment Process

All three courts mentioned in Smith’s letter have judges appointed by the federal government, although the processes and extent of consultation vary.

Alberta’s Court of King’s Bench, which is the province’s primary trial court for criminal and civil cases, and the Alberta Court of Appeal, which has the power to reverse the decisions of lower courts, generally assess judicial appointee applicants via independent advisory committees.

These committees are formed by legal professionals comprising four at the provincial and three at the federal level, all acting under the authority of the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada. The committees assess the applicants’ qualifications and pass their findings on to the federal minister of justice.

Although provinces are usually informally consulted, they are not in charge of who is appointed and the formal appointment is made by Canada’s governor general.

While four members of the committee are nominated by provincial entities such as Alberta’s chapter of the Canadian Bar Association and the Chief Justice of Alberta, they have to be approved for appointment first by the federal minister of justice before sitting on committee.

Amery’s proposal for a balanced committee where the province has power to choose two committee members would give the province more say over who gets on the shortlist for consideration by Ottawa, even though final authority for appointments would still rest with the federal government.

Supreme Court of Canada judicial appointments are reviewed by a federal advisory board which provides recommendations directly to the Prime Minister, who then selects a nominee to undergo hearings in Parliament.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.