It must first be noted that Canada is a federation of provinces, with

each province having exclusive jurisdiction for property and civil rights

within the province. The jurisdiction of the Federal Court of Canada is

limited to matters involving the federal government and other matters

which fall within the federal government’s exclusive jurisdiction under

the Canadian Constitution. The reality is that the provincial Court of the

particular province in which the arbitration takes place has exclusive

jurisdiction to determine what relief may be provided by court

proceedings. It is important to understand the various nuances and

distinctions that may exist in different provinces. The following is a

general discussion of the relief that is available by court action in the

various provinces. The reader is however, cautioned to look to the

legislation and case law in a particular province for a more detailed

analysis.

 

 

 

Yes. Each province and the federal government have passed

legislation adopting the UNCITRAL Model Law, which provides that the

court may grant an interim measure of protection to a party to an

international commercial arbitration.1 It should be noted however that the

recent amendments to the Model Law, dealing in detail with interim

measures, have not as yet been adopted by any jurisdiction in Canada.

 

In addition, the Supreme Court of Canada has held that at common

law, the courts of Canada have jurisdiction to grant an injunction to