List of Chief Justices of Canada by time in office

This is a list of Canadian Chief Justices. It can be sorted by time in office or length of retirement. For living Chief Justices, the values are calculated to October 12, 2018.

Chief Justices of Canada

Rank by
length
of term		 Chief Justice
 Appointed
by		 Date of
appointment		 Date of
retirement		 Length of
term		 Length of
retirement		 Date of death
 Order
by Date
1 Beverley McLachlin Chrétien January 7, 2000 December 15, 2017 6,552 days 301 days 17
2 William J. Ritchie Macdonald January 11, 1879 September 25, 1892 5,006 days N/A[1] September 25, 1892 2
3 Charles Fitzpatrick Laurier June 4, 1906 October 21, 1918 4,522 days 8,640 days June 17, 1942 5
4 Lyman Duff Bennett March 17, 1933 January 7, 1944 3,948 days 4,127 days April 26, 1955 8
5 Thibaudeau Rinfret King January 8, 1944 June 22, 1954 3,818 days 2,955 days July 25, 1962 9
6 Bora Laskin P. Trudeau December 27, 1973 March 26, 1984 3,742 days N/A[1] March 26, 1984 14
7 Samuel H. Strong Thompson December 13, 1892 November 18, 1902 3,626 days 2,478 days August 31, 1909 3
8 Antonio Lamer Mulroney July 1, 1990 January 6, 2000 3,476 days 2,879 days November 24, 2007 16
9 Patrick Kerwin St. Laurent July 1, 1954 February 2, 1963 3,138 days N/A[1] February 2, 1963 10
10 Francis A. Anglin King September 16, 1924 February 28, 1933 3,087 days 2 days March 2, 1933 7
11 Brian Dickson P. Trudeau April 18, 1984 June 30, 1990 2,264 days 3,031 days October 17, 1998 15
12 Louis H. Davies Borden October 23, 1918 May 1, 1924 2,017 days N/A[1] May 1, 1924 6
13 Robert Taschereau Pearson April 22, 1963 September 1, 1967 1,593 days 1,059 days July 26, 1970 11
14 Gérald Fauteux P. Trudeau March 23, 1970 December 23, 1973 1,371 days 2,457 days September 14, 1980 13
15 Henri E. Taschereau Laurier November 21, 1902 May 2, 1906 1,258 days 1,808 days April 14, 1911 4
16 William B. Richards Mackenzie September 30, 1875 January 10, 1879 1,198 days 3,669 days January 26, 1889 1
17 John R. Cartwright Pearson September 1, 1967 March 23, 1970 934 days 3,533 days November 24, 1979 12
18 Richard Wagner J. Trudeau December 18, 2017 298 days Incumbent 18
Rank by
length
of term		 Chief Justice Appointed
by		 Date of
appointment		 Date of
retirement		 Length of
term		 Length of
retirement		 Date of death Order
by Date
  1. 1 2 3 4 Died in office.

Milestone illustrations

The time frames involved in the length of service by previous holders of the office can be illustrated by comparing them to the length of time it would take for incumbent Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin to reach them:

  • McLachlin surpassed William J. Ritchie as the longest-serving Chief Justice in history on September 22, 2013.
  • To surpass Lyman Duff as the longest serving Supreme Court Justice in history, McLachlin will have to serve on the Supreme Court until Saturday, July 11, 2026. McLachlin's age on that date will be 82 years, 307 days. However, as Justices have a mandatory retirement age of 75, it will be impossible for McLachlin to pass this milestone unless the mandatory retirement age is removed, or as was the case with Justice Duff a special act of parliament extend her service.

See also

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