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Richard Wagner
Supreme Court of Canada
Chief Justice
Biography
The Right Honourable Richard Wagner was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in 2012 and named the Chief Justice of Canada in 2017. In this role, he presides over the Canadian Judicial Council and the National Judicial Institute and chairs the Advisory Council for the Order of Canada. Chief Justice Wagner served as the President of the Association des Cours Constitutionnelles Francophones from 2019 to 2022 and fulfilled his duties as Administrator of the Government of Canada from 23 January to 26 July 2021.
Born and raised in Montreal, Chief Justice Wagner obtained his Bachelor of Social Science and Licentiate in Laws from the University of Ottawa. He was called to the Quebec Bar in 1980 and became a partner at the law firm Lavery, de Billy, where he practised until 2004, specialising in professional liability, commercial litigation, and class action lawsuits.
Chief Justice Wagner has championed initiatives to enhance legal education, including the creation of the Centre d’accès à l’information juridique, for which he was awarded the Mérite du Barreau du Québec. He has received honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from the University of Ottawa and the Law Society of Ontario. In recognition of his significant contributions to the law, he was awarded the Medal of the Bar of Montreal in 2022 and the Medal of Honour from the World Jurist Association at the United Nations in New York in 2023, and the insignia of Commander of the national order of the Legion of Honour in France in 2024.
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