Michelle O'Bonsawin will become the first Indigenous person to serve on Canada's highest court, the Supreme Court of Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his nomination for the Supreme Court.
O'Bonsawin is Abenaki from Odanak. She is Franco-Ontarian and fluently bilingual, according to the nomination news release. O'Bonsawin has served as a judge on the Ontario Superior Court of Justice since 2017.
While the court has been more progressive on having women on the court, Prime Minister Trudeau appointed Mahmud Jamal — the first justice of colour — who started on Canada Day in 2021.
O'Bonsawin is the 11th female justice in the history of the Supreme Court of Canada compared to 6 in the United States Supreme Court.
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O'Bonsawin will replace Michael Moldaver, who will reach the retirement age of 75 on September 1. Moldaver, a Stephen Harper appointee, has been on the court since October 21, 2011.
This leaves 3 Harper appointees on the court, though Chief Justice Richard Wagner was a Harper appointee promoted to chief justice by Trudeau. The current prime minister will have 5 appointees on the 9-person court.
Harper's strategy was to pick younger justices who would be able to be on the court for a long time. The next opening of a Harper appointee won't be until October 3, 2030 when Andromache Karakatsanis would have to retire.
Russell Brown, easily the most conservative and controversial of the Harper appointees, could last on the court until September 15, 2040.
Justices can choose to retire before they reach 75. A judge could also be taken in by illness or death. The last justice to die while on the court was John Sopinka, who was a puisne (associate) justice from 1988-1997.
As we've noted, unlike the United States Supreme Court, justices aren't as aligned to the prime minister who picked them.
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Our U.S. readers are used to pages of analysis, where the justices might fall within the current makeup of the U.S. Senate. Such infighting is not part of the Canadian landscape. Pick a responsibly good justice candidate and get them onto the court. Done.
Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau definitely have different thought processes for what should go into the process.
Also, chief justices get promoted from within and not necessarily selected based on the party of the prime minister. Brian Mulroney picked Beverley McLachlin to be on the court in 1989 yet Jean Chrétien selected McLachlin as the first female chief justice on Canada's highest court in 2000.
Trudeau appointed Richard Wagner, a Harper appointee in 2012, to be the chief justice in late 2017.
You might also recall that Wagner served in the role of the governor general before Mary Simon was picked as a permanent replacement.
photo credit: CBC News
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