2023 by the Numbers

Take a peek at some of the work This section breaks down information about the cases heard in 2023 and puts it in the context of the last 10 years. 

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Caseload

After three consecutive years with fewer than 500 leave applications filed by parties, the Court saw an increase in 2023, with 523 applications filed. This is consistent with pre-pandemic numbers, but the number of appeals as of right filed (10) was less, as was the number of appeals heard (49) and judgments rendered (36). The average time between the hearing of an appeal and rendering of a judgment increased slightly to 5.5 months. Of note, a majority of the appeal judgments were unanimous, which is consistent with the previous year.

Most of the applications for leave to appeal were filed by lawyers on behalf of their clients, but 28% were brought forward by self-represented litigants, which is the same as 2022.

The Supreme Court of Canada will only hear cases judges consider to be of public importance, or, of such a nature of significance as to warrant decision by the Court. The Court does not give reasons for its decisions on leave applications.

Applications for Leave Referred for Decision

Number of Applications by Origin

From provinces, territories and the federal level

Origin Number
Alberta 64
British Columbia  88
Manitoba 11
New Brunswick   7
Newfoundland & Labrador   5
Northwest Territories   1
Nova Scotia   9
Nunavut 2
Ontario   164
Prince Edward Island   1
Quebec 125
Saskatchewan 31
Yukon 0
Federal Court of Appeal 51
Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada 4
TOTAL 563

Categories of Law

Public law includes constitutional and administrative legal matters. In constitutional cases, the Court interprets Canada’s Constitution, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Administrative law appeals come from non-court decisions by governments or their agencies and tribunals in areas such as labour relations, taxation and human rights.

Criminal law appeals come from prosecutions under the Criminal Code, or any other law that prohibits specific conduct, and impose fines or imprisonment upon those who break the law. These appeals may raise issues such as consent, sentencing and the 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 expropriation, civil liability and commercial law.

Applications by Category

Category Number Referred   Percentage
Public Law   279 49%
Criminal Law   144 26%
Private Law  140 25%

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 As of Right

Number of Appeals As of Right by Origin

From provinces, territories and the federal level

Origin (Province) Number
Alberta 2
British Columbia 0
Manitoba 0
New Brunswick 0
Newfoundland & Labrador 0
Northwest Territories 0
Nova Scotia 1
Nunavut 0
Ontario 3
Prince Edward Island 0
Quebec 1
Saskatchewan 2
Yukon 0
Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada 1
TOTAL 10

Appeals Heard

Number of Appeals Heard by Origin

From provinces, territories and the federal level

Origin (Province) Number
Alberta 8
British Columbia 6
Manitoba 1
New Brunswick 1
Newfoundland & Labrador 1
Northwest Territories 1
Nova Scotia 0
Nunavut 0
Ontario 12
Prince Edward Island 0
Quebec 10
Saskatchewan 0
Yukon 1
Federal Court of Appeal 3
Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada 5
TOTAL 49

Appeals Heard by Category

Category Number Heard Percentage
Public Law   17 35%
Criminal Law   26 53%
Private Law  6 12%

Appeals Decided

Number of Appeals Decided by Origin

From provinces, territories and the federal level

Origin (Province) Number
Alberta 9
British Columbia 4
Manitoba 1
New Brunswick 1
Newfoundland & Labrador 0
Northwest Territories 1
Nova Scotia 0
Nunavut 0
Ontario 7
Prince Edward Island 0
Quebec 8
Saskatchewan 1
Yukon 0
Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada 1
TOTAL 36

Appeals Decided by Category

Category Number Heard Percentage
Public Law   17 35%
Criminal Law   26 53%
Private Law  6 12%

This report sets out a statistical view of the work of the Supreme Court of Canada over the last decade, from 2014 to 2023. It is worth noting that due to widespread pandemic court closures across Canada from 2020 to 2022, some of the most recent data are irregular.

The first category of data shows how many applications were filed at the Court for applications for leave to appeal and notices of appeal as of right. The data also indicate how many of those cases the Court dismissed and granted.

The first table represents the number of cases heard by the Court that were as of right, and by leave. The second table establishes the caseload status at the end of the 2023 calendar year by showing how many appeals were dismissed, allowed or remained on reserve at the end of the 2023 calendar year.

Below, you will find four tables. The first provides a ten-year view on how many appeals the Court has allowed and dismissed. The second table indicates how many decisions the Court delivered from the bench or reserved for further deliberation. The final two tables illustrate how often the judges agree on their reasons for 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 of Canada.

Breakdown of Cases Filed at the Court

Types of Cases

Year Applications for leave to appeal Notices of appeal as of right
2014           561 16
2015 542 21
2016 577 15
2017 526 17
2018 531 26
2019 533 25
2020 481 25
2021 492 21
2022 485 23
2023 523 10

Outcomes of Leave Applications Referred for Decision

Year Dismissed Granted Pending
2014            430 50 -
2015 424 43 -
2016 526 50 -
2017 426 50 -
2018 431 42 -
2019 498 36 -
2020 390 34 -
2021 385 34 -
2022 409 31 -
2023 506 34 6

Note: 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

Year By Leave As of Right
2014           58 22
2015 22 15
2016 48 15
2017 48 17
2018 49 21
2019 45 24
2020 22 19
2021 32 26
2022 33 19
2023 34 15

Note: 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

Year Dismissed Allowed On Reserve
2014            44 35 -
2015 39 24 -
2016 31 32 -
2017 35 31 -
2018 31 35 -
2019 33 36 -
2020 21 20 -
2021 35 23 -
2022 31 20 1
2023 12 8 29

Note: Rehearings of appeals are not counted in these statistics.

Breakdown of Decisions

Outcomes of Appeals Decided

Year Dismissed Allowed
2014           52 23
2015 39 35
2016 28 29
2017 39 28
2018 31 33
2019 33 39
2020 21 24
2021 37 22
2022 33 20
2023 18 18

Delivery of Decisions

Year Reserved (decision delivered later) From the bench (decision made right away)
2014                55 22
2015 58 16
2016 44 13
2017 48 19
2018 44 20
2019 47 25
2020 28 17
2021 37 22
2022 36 17
2023 26 10

Note: 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.

Agreement of Decisions

Year Unanimous Not Unanimous
2014           61 16
2015 52 22
2016 35 22
2017 36 31
2018 31 33
2019 30 42
2020 22 23
2021 27 32
2022 29 24
2023 21 15

Percentage of Unanimous Decisions

Year Percentage
2014           79%
2015 70%
2016 61%
2017 54%
2018 48%
2019 42%
2020 49%
2021 46%
2022 55%
2023 58%

Note: 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.

Timing

Number of Hearing Days

2014 2015 2016 2017
 2018 2019 2020 2021
 2022 2023
63 50 53 60 59 58 35 58 48 46

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
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
2022 3.5 8.6 4.6 16.7
2023 4.6 9.9 5.5 20.0
Average
 3.9 7.9 4.9 16.7