The Growing Power of Canada's Supreme Court Explained
This paper examines the expanding power of the Canadian Supreme Court over the past three decades, focusing on how judicial review and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms have significantly broadened the Court's authority. The paper traces the Court's growing influence across political, social, and foreign policy domains, highlighting landmark decisions such as the legalization of same-sex marriage and the protection of collective bargaining rights. It also addresses criticism that judicial empowerment has come at the expense of elected politicians, raising questions about the appropriate balance of power within Canadian democracy.
- Introduction: An Expanding Court: Thesis: Supreme Court's scope and influence has grown
- Judicial Review and the Canadian Constitution: Judicial review's role within Canada's plural constitution
- The Charter of Rights and Freedoms: Charter expanded Court's authority over public policy
- Landmark Policy Decisions: Same-sex marriage and collective bargaining rulings
- Criticism of Judicial Power: Debate over judges having excessive political power
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What makes this paper effective
- Grounds its argument in specific, concrete examples — same-sex marriage legislation and collective bargaining rulings — that illustrate abstract claims about expanding judicial power.
- Presents a counter-argument in a dedicated section, giving the essay a balanced analytical structure rather than a one-sided advocacy piece.
- Uses direct quotations from primary and secondary sources to support each major claim, lending credibility to the argument.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of the "claim–evidence–analysis" pattern throughout each paragraph. A central claim about the Court's expanding power is made, supported by a relevant quotation or cited fact, and then connected back to the broader thesis about judicial influence on Canadian society.
Structure breakdown
The essay opens with a clear thesis statement identifying the Court's growth in power. The body develops two primary lines of argument — expanded judicial review and Charter-based policy authority — each supported with examples. A final section introduces the opposing view that judicial power has grown excessive, before the reference list closes the paper. The structure follows a classic five-section academic essay format suitable for an introductory political science course.
Introduction: An Expanding Court
The Canadian Supreme Court has seen an expansion of power that has increased its scope and influence over society. Over the last three decades, the political and public influence of the Court has increased dramatically. Today, the Supreme Court has the right to decide on issues regarding equality rights, making judgments on the behaviors and policies of other entities that influence the balance of power within Canadian politics and social life.
Judicial Review and the Canadian Constitution
The growth of power in the hands of the Canadian Supreme Court has allowed it to extend its reach into greater political realms. The evolving notion of judicial review within the court system has become a powerful force in deciding matters within Canadian society, despite the fact that, unlike the United States, Canada does not have a single constitutional document that would serve as the foundation for traditional judicial review (Haworth, 2014).
Instead, Canada's Constitution "includes a great many statutes, orders-in-council, and judicial decisions that interpret these documents. In addition, there are informal rules, called constitutional conventions, that regulate how our political actors behave. Finally, there are some traditions and customs that may not be obligatory but are followed" (Nelson Education, 2013). The Supreme Court has witnessed increasing power of judicial review in ensuring that laws and policies adhere to these collective documents and traditions that together constitute the Canadian Constitution.
Moreover, the increasing power of the Canadian Supreme Court also extends into foreign policy decisions (Library of Congress, 2015). In 2015, the Court ruled in favor of allowing workers to unionize and use collective bargaining as a basic right, influencing labor politics in Canadian society (Bolte, 2015). Judges can now involve themselves in judging political processes and foreign policy decisions in an environment where the Canadian Supreme Court has drastically increased its influence and power.
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms
As the Canadian Supreme Court took a more devoted stance toward protecting equality, its power over public policy grew. This expansion has also extended into the policy-oriented political realm, especially through decisions made under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which has "greatly enhanced the power of the courts to influence and decide important and controversial issues of public policy" (Sharpe, 2003). The Charter was passed in 1982 as a way to allow Canadian courts to make judgments in order to protect human rights and equality for all Canadian citizens (Haworth, 2014). It became a single document that could stand as the foundation for ensuring basic rights for Canadians (L'Heureux-Dubé, 2003).
The Charter helped the Court increase its power over a number of public policy issues, including "police powers, women's and reproductive rights, recognition for gay and lesbian relationships, linguistic and aboriginal rights, and to what is sometimes called judicial activism" (Schwartz, 2012). The increasing power of the Court through the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is meant to protect basic human rights through the Court's decision-making authority (Historica Canada, 2015).
References
Bolte, Chaz. (2015). "In Historic Moment, Canadian Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Collective Bargaining Protections." The We Party. Web.
Haworth, Peter. (2014). "Judicial Review, Charter Politics, and Federalism in Canada: The American Influences." Nomocracy in Politics. Web.
Historica Canada. (2015). "Supreme Court of Canada." The Canadian Encyclopedia. Web.
Hogg, Peter W. (2005). "Canada: The Constitution and Same-Sex Marriage." International Journal of Constitutional Law. Web.
Huscroft, Grant. (2012). "Yes, The Charter of Rights Has Given Judges Too Much Power." The Globe and Mail. Web.
L'Heureux-Dubé, Claire. (2003). "Realizing Equality in the Twentieth Century: The Role of the Supreme Court of Canada in Comparative Perspective." Oxford University Press. Web.
Library of Congress. (2015). "The Impact of Foreign Law on Domestic Judgments: Canada." Legal Reports. Web.
Nelson Education. (2013). "The Constitution of Canada." Political Science. Web.
Schwartz, Daniel. (2012). "6 Big Changes the Charter of Rights Has Brought." CBC News Canada. Web.
Sharpe, Robert J. (2003). "The Supreme Court of Canada in Changing Times." Ontario Justice Education Network. Web.
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