LAW Canadian Statutes

This guide is intended to help researchers locate legislation for all Canadian jurisdictions and provide links to sources for other legislative materials

Finding Statutes and Regulations

Many statutes are available electronically. Although content often mirrors content available in various databases, no source is totally comprehensive. When "noting up" check multiple resources for best results.

Electronic Sources

CanLII This link opens in a new window
CanLII makes statutes and regulations from all Canadian jurisdictions freely accessible. Check Scope of Databases to determine coverage.
CanLII, is a non-profit organization managed by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada to provide Open Access, freely accessible primary legal material, including court judgments, tribunal decisions, statutes and regulations from all Canadian jurisdictions.
HeinOnline This link opens in a new window
Acts of the Parliament of Canada (Annual Statutes) and Revised Statutes of Canada. The Statutes of Canada (SC) consists of the compilation of all the federal laws of Canada passed by the Parliament of Canada since Confederation in 1867. The Revised Statutes of Canada (RSC) is the consolidation of the Statutes of Canada incorporating amendments and Acts that have been added since the last revision. Thus far there have been six revisions: in 1886, 1906, 1927, 1952, 1970, and 1985.
Contains the full text of numerous legal journals and monographs, U.S. government documents, foreign and international law materials, legal classics, world trials and more.
Lexis Advance Quicklaw This link opens in a new window
Lexis Advances Quicklaw provides access to an extensive database of over 2 million cases, jurisdictional sources, including exclusive sources like Halsbury's Laws of Canada and Canadian Tort Law. This database includes QuickCite, which ensures decisions are based on good authority by cases. Lexis Advance QuickLaw provides access to Canadian law (legislation, jurisprudence, and doctrine) as well as law sources from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong.
Lexis+ Canada This link opens in a new window
- Available to Faculty of Law students only
- Password access only
Content includes Canadian, US, UK, international and foreign legal materials, and Practical Guidance.
Westlaw Canada This link opens in a new window
- Access to subscribed content only
Platform for database products published by Thomas Reuters Canada. Includes primary sources, commentary, court documents, forms and precedents, and finding tools. Full text source for Canadian law resources. Includes the Canadian Abridgement Digests and Canadian Encyclopedic Digest; cases (reported and unreported), commentary, legislations, journal articles covering the areas of general law, family law and criminal law.
Westlaw Edge (UofC Law School only) This link opens in a new window
Faculty of Law students and faculty may obtain an individual password.
Westlaw Edge is a full text and indexing database that provides access to a variety of law and finding tools. It includes Canadian statutes and regulations, reported decisions from Canadian courts and tribunals, Canadian law journals and law reviews. Westlaw includes nearly 15,000 databases covering most US primary and secondary legal materials and legal research tools. It also includes over 700 full text law reviews and has legal material from the UK, Australia and the EU.

Legislative Research Tools

Not all legislative research tools are available electronically, but many are. Here are some tools to help your legislative research.

Table of Public Statutes and Responsible Ministers - tracks changes in federal statutes since 1985. Find the current version on the Justice Laws website.
Update by tracking progress of Bills since date of the last Table of Public Statutes and Responsible Ministers.
Statutory Index of Statutory Instruments - tracks changes in Regulations that are in force. Find the current version on the Justice Laws website.
Loose-leaf services often include current consolidated statutes and regulations. Locate loose-leaf service by searching by subject in the library search box

Print Federal Legislative Titles

Statutes for the current year were published in the Canada Gazette Part III until they ceased in print. Find the current version on the Justice Laws website.
Print statutes are on the first floor (KE 88) until they ceased in print. Find the current version on the Justice Laws website.
Indexes to track the status of Bills, and changes in Statutes and Regulations
- Canadian Current Law: Legislation (KE173 .C436 Ref)
- Canada Legislative Index (KE31 .C36)
- Canada Statute Citator (green pages) (KF106 .C36)
Bills are on the 1st floor (KE65 Senate; KE68 Commons) until they ceased in print. Find Bills since 2000 on LegisINFO.

Federal

Department of Justice - Justice Laws

Canada Statute Service This link opens in a new window
The internet version of the Canada Statute Service features: the consolidated 1985 Revised Statutes of Canada, plus any new Acts (excluding the Income Tax Act), with a complete amendment history for each statute; repealed statutes; all Regulations from the 1978 consolidation, plus any new Regulations; and history and case links to the Canada Statute Citator.

LEGISinfo
Provides electronic access to information about each bill.
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A research tool for finding information on legislation before Parliament.

Canadiana Online This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Canadiana online is a full-text searchable database that includes books, journals and government publications documenting Canadian History. The e-book collection, spans three and a half centuries of Canadian documentary history, holds rich primary materials exploring a wide range of subjects and disciplines. Topics range from major historical events to the development of institutions, laws, and science; from Canadian literature to philosophical treatises; from agriculture to politics, trade, and tariffs. The Serials collection includes a wide range of daily and weekly newspapers, specialized journals, and mass-market magazines, as well as city directories and annual reports from churches, schools, and corporations. Specialized publications include trade or industry journals as well as many men’s, women’s, student’s and children’s popular magazines. Early periodicals are an invaluable source of information for researchers in all fields, as they offer a remarkable record of thought and opinion on diverse issues. Lavishly-illustrated journals open a captivating window onto early Canadian society and culture through their articles, advertisements, cartoons, drawings, and photographs. The Government Publications collection includes over 1.7 million pages of historical pre-1920 colonial, provincial and federal government documents. This collection includes government acts, bills, committee reports, court rules, debates, journals, ordinances, a selection of official publications from France and Great Britain, sessional papers, regulations, royal commission reports, voter’s lists, and treaties.

Alberta

Statutes and Regulations
CanLII
Alberta King's Printer
Provincial government website that contains an alphabetical listing of statutes. Also includes Alberta Gazette.
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Official source of Alberta government laws and publications since 1906.

KP source professional This link opens in a new window
KP Source Professional is a fully searchable database of the current text of Alberta's statutes and regulations, Registrar's Periodical, and Spring and Fall Sitting legislation. It also includes Rules of Court and Practice Notes, the Alberta Gazette (1996 to present) and Orders-in-Council (1967 to present), as well as a variety of other legislative related publications.

British Columbia

Statutes and Regulations
CanLII
BC Laws

Manitoba

Statutes and Regulations
CanLII
Laws of Manitoba
Includes municipal and private acts, general public acts and proclamations

New Brunswick

Newfoundland and Labrador

Northwest Territories

Statutes and Regulations
CanLII
Legislation Search

Nova Scotia

Statutes and Regulations
CanLII
Nova Scotia Statues
From the Office of the Legislative Counsel
Nova Scotia Regulations

Nunavut

Statutes and Regulations
CanLII
Nunavut Legislation
Department of Justice

Ontario

Prince Edward Island

Statutes and Regulations
CanLII
Statutes and Regulations
Legislative Counsel Office
PEI Legislative Documents Online
Provides access to the full text of the Journals of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island from March, 1894 to current. Includes audio and images.

Quebec

Statutes and Regulations
CanLII
Civil Code of Quebec

Saskatchewan

Statutes and Regulations
CanLII
Freelaw
Saskatchewan Queen's Printer

Yukon

Statutes and Regulations
CanLII
Yukon Gazette

Libraries & Cultural Resources

Research Guides