| Chief Justice of Canada | |
|---|---|
| Supreme Court of Canada Office of the Chief Justice Judiciary of Canada (Queen-on-the-Bench) | |
| Style | The Right Honourable Madam/Mister Chief Justice |
| Status | Chief justice, head of a court system Deputy Governor General 4th in Canadian order of precedence |
| Member of | Supreme Court Canadian Judicial Council (Ex-officio chairman) Order of Canada advisory council (chairman) |
| Seat | Supreme Court Building, Ottawa, Ontario |
| Nominator | Cabinet |
| Appointer | Governor General of Canada |
| Term length | No set term, though retirement is mandatory at age 75 |
| Constituting instrument | Supreme Court Act |
| Inaugural holder | Sir William Buell Richards |
| Formation | September 30, 1875 |
| Salary | $413,500 (as of April 2018) |
| Website | Supreme Court |
The Chief Justice of Canada (French: Juge en Chef du Canada) is the presiding judge of the nine-member Supreme Court of Canada, the highest judicial body in Canada.
Since the Supreme Court was established in 1875, the following 18 persons have served as Chief Justice:
| Name (Province) |
Order and term | Length of term | Appointed on advice of |
Date of birth | Date of death | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Buell Richards (Ontario) |
1st | September 30, 1875 – January 10, 1879 |
3 years, 102 days | Mackenzie | May 2, 1815 | January 26, 1889 |
| William Johnstone Ritchie (New Brunswick) |
2nd | January 11, 1879 – September 25, 1892 |
13 years, 258 days | Macdonald | October 28, 1813 | September 25, 1892 |
| Samuel Henry Strong (Ontario) |
3rd | December 13, 1892 – November 17, 1902 |
9 years, 339 days | Thompson | August 13, 1825 | August 31, 1909 |
| Henri Elzéar Taschereau (Quebec) |
4th | November 21, 1902 – May 1, 1906 |
3 years, 161 days | Laurier | October 7, 1836 | April 14, 1911 |
| Charles Fitzpatrick (Quebec) |
5th | June 4, 1906 – October 20, 1918 |
12 years, 138 days | Laurier | December 19, 1851 | June 17, 1942 |
| Louis Henry Davies (Prince Edward Island) |
6th | October 23, 1918 – May 1, 1924 |
5 years, 191 days | Borden | May 4, 1845 | May 1, 1924 |
| Francis Alexander Anglin (Ontario) |
7th | September 16, 1924 – February 27, 1933 |
8 years, 164 days | King | April 2, 1865 | March 2, 1933 |
| Lyman Duff (British Columbia) |
8th | March 17, 1933 – January 6, 1944 |
10 years, 295 days | Bennett | January 7, 1865 | April 26, 1955 |
| Thibaudeau Rinfret (Quebec) |
9th | January 8, 1944 – June 21, 1954 |
10 years, 164 days | King | June 22, 1879 | July 25, 1962 |
| Patrick Kerwin (Ontario) |
10th | July 1, 1954 – February 2, 1963 |
8 years, 216 days | St. Laurent | October 25, 1889 | February 2, 1963 |
| Robert Taschereau (Quebec) |
11th | April 22, 1963 – August 31, 1967 |
4 years, 131 days | Pearson | September 10, 1896 | July 26, 1970 |
| John Robert Cartwright (Ontario) |
12th | September 1, 1967 – March 22, 1970 |
2 years, 202 days | Pearson | March 23, 1895 | November 24, 1979 |
| Gérald Fauteux (Quebec) |
13th | March 23, 1970 – December 22, 1973 |
3 years, 274 days | P. Trudeau | October 22, 1900 | September 14, 1980 |
| Bora Laskin (Ontario) |
14th | December 27, 1973 – March 26, 1984 |
10 years, 90 days | P. Trudeau | October 5, 1912 | March 26, 1984 |
| Brian Dickson (Manitoba) |
15th | April 18, 1984 – June 29, 1990 |
6 years, 72 days | P. Trudeau | May 25, 1916 | October 17, 1998 |
| Antonio Lamer (Quebec) |
16th | July 1, 1990 – January 6, 2000 |
9 years, 189 days | Mulroney | July 8, 1933 | November 24, 2007 |
| Beverley McLachlin (British Columbia) |
17th | January 7, 2000 – December 14, 2017 |
17 years, 341 days | Chrétien | September 7, 1943 | (living) |
| Richard Wagner (Quebec) |
18th | December 18, 2017 – Incumbent |
8 years, 305 days | J. Trudeau | April 2, 1957 | (living) |