Michelle O’Bonsawin has been appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the appointment in August, and it took effect on Sept. 1, 2022.
Justice O’Bonsawin is an accomplished jurist with expertise in the areas of mental health, Gladue principles, labour and employment law, human rights, and privacy law, and has been a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Ottawa since 2017.
Justice O’Bonsawin holds a B.A., an LL.B., and an LL.M., and completed her Ph.D. in Law earlier this year. A fluently bilingual Franco-Ontarian, she is an Abenaki member of the Odanak First Nation.
This appointment is the fifth under the Supreme Court selection process launched by the Government of Canada in 2016. Through this process, an independent and non-partisan advisory board chaired by the Honourable H. Wade MacLauchlan was tasked with identifying candidates.
Justice O’Bonsawin will fill the vacancy created by the upcoming retirement of Justice Michael J. Moldaver.
