Canada - Enforcement of Money Judgments

Canadian courts are very receptive to the enforcement of final and conclusive foreign money judgments subject to certain statutory exceptions and procedural requirements. Since the 1990s, Canadian courts have recognized that the law relating to the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments has been modernized significantly to reflect the changing needs and dictates of the forces of globalization. Canada’s federal and provincial legislation and jurisprudence foster respect for foreign money judgments made according to the rule of law and consistent with Canadian public policy considerations.

The Canadian judicial attitude is reflected in the statement of a commentator who wrote that “[i]t is a tribute to Canadian internationalism that our courts have seen no reason why Canadian defendants should be any less liable under a default judgment from the United States or the United Kingdom than under a default judgment from elsewhere in Canada.”

The principle of comity, which is the deference and respect due by other states to the actions of a state legitimately taken within its territory, underlies the recognition of foreign judgments in Canada. Canadian courts recognize that “full faith and credit” should be given to a judgment granted in another province, territory or country as long as the judgment-making court had properly and appropriately exercised jurisdiction in the action. Jurisdiction is proper where the legal forum has a “real and substantial connection” to the matter in question. The “real and substantial connection” test has been adopted as the appropriate test to determine if the courts of another province, territory or country had appropriately exercised its jurisdiction. The “real and substantial connection test is so broad that there are very few situations in which it would not be met.