2021 by the Numbers

This section breaks down information about the cases heard in 2021 and puts it in the context of the last 10 years.

Caseload

Members of the Court decided 424 applications for leave to appeal in 2021 and granted 34, or 8%. That is up 1% from 2020. The lighter caseload is directly linked to widespread court closures across Canada in 2020. The Court received 21 appeals as of right in 2021 and no reference questions. Judges heard 58 appeals and rendered 59 judgments.

The Court continues to see a decline in the proportion of applications from self-represented litigants; from its high of 33% in 2016 to 19% in 2021. Judges have also continued to deliver more judgments from the bench, immediately after the hearing. In 2021, 37% of their decisions were delivered from the bench.

Applications for Leave Referred for Decision

Number of Applications by Origin

From provinces, territories or the federal level

Origin Number
Alberta 51
British Columbia 52
Manitoba 7
New Brunswick 7
Newfoundland & Labrador 5
Northwest Territories 0
Nova Scotia 7
Nunavut 1
Ontario 107
Prince Edward Island 1
Quebec 117
Saskatchewan 28
Yukon 2
Federal Court of Appeal 45
Total 430
Number of applications by origin map

Applications by Category

Category Number Referred Percentage
Criminal law 136 32%
Private law 94 22%
Public law 200 46%
Categories of Cases
Criminal law cases come from prosecutions under the Criminal Code or other legislation that prohibits specific conduct and imposes fines or imprisonment for disobeying the law. These cases may raise issues such as self-defence, sentencing and admissibility of evidence.
Private law cases arise from disputes between individuals that are taken to a court for determination. Recent cases in the private law category raised issues of negligence, family law and contracts.
Public law cases include constitutional or administrative law cases. In constitutional cases, the Court must interpret Canada’s Constitution, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Administrative law appeals come from administrative decisions made by governments, or those acting on their behalf, in areas such as labour relations, taxation and human rights.
Pie chart: applications by category

Appeals As of Right

Number of Appeals As of Right by Origin

From provinces, territories or the federal level

Origin Number
Alberta 7
British Columbia 4
Manitoba 0
New Brunswick 0
Newfoundland and Labrador 2
Northwest Territories 0
Nova Scotia 1
Nunavut 0
Ontario 3
Prince Edward Island 0
Quebec 2
Saskatchewan 2
Yukon 0
Court Martial Appeal Court 0
Total 21
Provincial and territorial flags with number of appeals as of right

Definitions

As of right: an appeal where the Court’s permission isn’t required, that is, the right is automatic

By leave: an appeal that needs the Court’s permission to be heard

Leave application / application for leave to appeal: the documents filed to ask permission for an appeal to be heard

Notice of appeal: the documents filed to tell the Court that a party will appeal, this will be the first document filed for an “as of right” appeal, and will be filed after an application for leave to appeal is granted

Granted (leave application): when the Court gives permission for an appeal to be heard

Dismissed (leave application): when the Court does not give permission for an appeal to go forward

Allowed (appeal): when the Court overturns the lower-court decision

Dismissed (appeal): when the Court agrees with the lower-court decision.

Decision: the final judgment that ends the appeal; it can be given orally (from the bench) or through written reasons (reserved). Once in a while, a decision from the bench will be followed by written reasons later.

On reserve: appeals that haven’t been decided yet

Reasons: text where a judge or sometimes more than one judge explains how they arrived at a certain decision

Appeals Heard

Number of Appeals Heard by Origin

From provinces, territories or the federal level

Origin Number
Alberta 9
British Columbia 12
Manitoba 3
New Brunswick 1
Newfoundland and Labrador 2
Northwest Territories 0
Nova Scotia 0
Nunavut 0
Ontario 13
Prince Edward Island 1
Quebec 10
Saskatchewan 4
Yukon 0
Federal Court of Appeal 3
Total 58
Provincial and territorial flags with number of appeals heard by origin

Appeals Heard by Category

Category Number Heard Percentage
Criminal law 32 55%
Private law 12 21%
Public law 14 24%
Categories of Cases
Criminal law cases come from prosecutions under the Criminal Code or other legislation that prohibits specific conduct and imposes fines or imprisonment for disobeying the law. These cases may raise issues such as self-defence, sentencing and admissibility of evidence.
Private law cases arise from disputes between individuals that are taken to a court for determination. Recent cases in the private law category raised issues of negligence, family law and contracts.
Public law cases include constitutional or administrative law cases. In constitutional cases, the Court must interpret Canada’s Constitution, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Administrative law appeals come from administrative decisions made by governments, or those acting on their behalf, in areas such as labour relations, taxation and human rights.
Appeals Heard by Category pie chart

Appeals Decided

Number of Appeals Decided by Origin

From provinces, territories or the federal level

Origin Number
Alberta 7
British Columbia 10
Manitoba 3
New Brunswick 1
Newfoundland and Labrador 2
Northwest Territories 0
Nova Scotia 0
Nunavut 0
Ontario 17
Prince Edward Island 1
Quebec 10
Saskatchewan 4
Yukon 0
Federal Court of Appeal 4
Total 59
Number of appeals decided by origin from provinces, territories or the federal level

Appeals Decided by Category

Category Number Heard Percentage
Criminal law  23  39%
Private law  16  27%
Public law  20  34%
Categories of Cases
Criminal law cases come from prosecutions under the Criminal Code or other legislation that prohibits specific conduct and imposes fines or imprisonment for disobeying the law. These cases may raise issues such as self-defence, sentencing and admissibility of evidence.
Private law cases arise from disputes between individuals that are taken to a court for determination. Recent cases in the private law category raised issues of negligence, family law and contracts.
Public law cases include constitutional or administrative law cases. In constitutional cases, the Court must interpret Canada’s Constitution, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Administrative law appeals come from administrative decisions made by governments, or those acting on their behalf, in areas such as labour relations, taxation and human rights.
Pie chart of appeals decided by category

Ten-Year Trends

This report sets out a statistical view of the work of the Supreme Court of Canada from 2012 to 2021. The tables outline the Court’s workload over the last decade. Given widespread pandemic court closures and other measures implemented across Canada in 2020 and 2021, it is worth noting that some of the most recent data are irregular.

The first category of data breaks down the number of cases filed at the Court by applications for leave to appeal and notices of appeal as of right. It also provides information on how many of those cases were dismissed or granted by the Court. The first table illustrates how many cases were heard by the Court as of right and by leave. The second shows how many cases were dismissed, allowed or on reserve at the end of the calendar year.

Below, you will find four tables. The first gives a 10-year view of outcomes of appeal decisions, by how many were dismissed or allowed. The second explains how the Court delivered its decisions, either right away from the bench or reserved until the written reasons are complete. The final two tables illustrate how often all the judges agree on the result of a judgment.

For information about the number of hearing days, see the table explaining how long it takes cases to make their way through different processes at the Supreme Court.

Breakdown of Cases Filed at the Court

Types of Cases

Types of Cases graph
Year Applications for leave to appeal Notices of appeal as of right
2012 551 15
2013 490 18
2014 561 16
2015 542 21
2016 577 15
2017 526 17
2018 531 26
2019 525 25
2020 475 25
2021 473 21

Outcomes of Leave Applications Referred for Decision

Outcomes of Leave Applications Referred for Decision graph
Year Dismissed Granted Pending
2012 469 69 -
2013 456 53 -
2014 430 50 -
2015 424 43 -
2016 526 50 -
2017 426 50 -
2018 431 42 -
2019 498 36 -
2020 390 34 -
2021 383 34 5
Statistics do not include cases that were sent back to a lower court, discontinued, quashed, adjourned, or where there was a request for more time that wasn't allowed.

Breakdown of Appeals Heard

Types of Appeals

Types of Appeals graph
Year By Leave As of Right
2012 63 15
2013 63 12
2014 58 22
2015 48 15
2016 48 15
2017 49 17
2018 45 21
2019 45 24
2020 22 19
2021 32 26

Not all appeals heard in one year were decided in that year. Some cases were decided in the calendar year after the hearing. For example, most appeals heard in the fall of one year are decided in the winter or spring of the following year. This means statistics about appeals heard and appeals decided are slightly different.

Appeals with issues in common may be decided in the same reasons, even if the Court hears them separately.

Outcomes of Appeals Heard

Outcomes of Appeals Heard graph
Year Dismissed Allowed On Reserve
2012 44 34 -
2013 45 29 -
2014 44 35 -
2015 39 24 -
2016 31 32 -
2017 35 31 -
2018 31 35 -
2019 33 36 -
2020 21 20 -
2021 27 14 17
Appeals aren't counted in these statistics if there was a rehearing or remand ordered, or they were discontinued after the hearing, or they were references under s. 53 of the Supreme Court Act. There were no situations like this in 2021.

Breakdown of Decisions

Outcomes of Appeals Decided

Outcomes of Appeals Decided graph
Year Dismissed Allowed
2012 52 31
2013 39 39
2014 52 23
2015 39 35
2016 28 29
2017 39 28
2018 31 33
2019 33 39
2020 21 24
2021 37 22
The appeals to which these judgments relate may have been heard in a previous year. Opinions on references under s. 53 of the Supreme Court Act are not included.

Delivery of Decisions

Delivery of Decisions graph
Year Reserved
(decision delivered later)		 From the bench
(decision made right away)
2012 75 8
2013 69 9
2014 55 22
2015 58 16
2016 44 13
2017 48 19
2018 44 20
2019 47 25
2020 28 17
2021 37 22

Agreement of Decisions

Agreement of Decisions graph
Year Unanimous Not unanimous
2012 60 23
2013 53 25
2014 61 16
2015 52 22
2016 35 22
2017 36 31
2018 31 33
2019 30 42
2020 22 23
2021 27 32
This refers to whether all judges agree on the result, either for the same reasons or for different reasons, or whether they disagree on the result. A "unanimous" decision may therefore have more than one set of reasons.

Percentage of Unanimous Decisions

Percentage of Unanimous Decisions graph
Year Percentage
2012 72
2013 68
2014 79
2015 70
2016 61
2017 54
2018 48
2019 42
2020 49
2021 46

Timing

Number of Hearing Days

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
65 65 63 50 53 60 59 58 35 58
Number of hearing days from 2012 to 2021

Average Time of Process Leading to Judgment (in months)

Year Between filing and decision on application for leave to appeal Between granting of leave or filing of notice of appeal as of right and hearing Between hearing and judgment Total
2012 4.4 9.0 6.3 19.7
2013 3.3 8.2 6.2 17.7
2014 3.2 8.2 4.1 15.5
2015 4.1 7.3 5.8 17.2
2016 4.0 7.5 4.8 16.3
2017 3.8 7.4 4.6 15.8
2018 5.5 6.7 4.8 17.0
2019 4.2 6.3 5.3 15.8
2020 3.4 8.6 5.4 17.4
2021 2.8 8.2 4.2 15.2
Average 3.9 7.7 5.2 16.8
Graph of Average Time of Process Leading to Judgment (in months)