How to Become a Canadian Judge
Canadian judges hear criminal, civil, corporate and family matters in courts across the country. Most judges in Canada work in provincial courts in their provincial or territorial jurisdictions and are members of the judge associations of their province or territory. Since Canadian judges are employed by the provinces, salaries can vary across the country but, as of 2009, judges of the Ontario Court of Justice received a standard salary of 245,000 Canadian dollars per year.
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Instructions
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Gain membership to the Canadian Bar Association. Every Canadian province requires that applicants for judicial vacancies be members of the Canadian Bar Association as well as their provincial or territorial legal societies. This means that you must complete your law school and articling requirements and successfully pass your bar exams. In general, you must complete a bachelor's degree before you apply to law school, and law school takes three years to complete.
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Work as a lawyer. You must gain significant experience working as a member of the bar. Specific requirements can differ from province to province, but a minimum of 10 years as a member of the bar is usually required. You must attain high levels of professional achievement, show a commitment to continuing your legal education and maintain a clean professional record over your years of experience to be considered for a judicial position.
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Apply with your provincial court for a position. For most provinces, candidates submit applications to be accepted into a pool of qualified applicants. As openings for positions become available, qualified candidates will be contacted. You must consent to a thorough background check when you apply. If you have any outstanding complaints against you with a law society, your application will not be considered. You will also be asked to list any community activities with which you are involved, publications for which you have written and professional associations of which you are a member. You must also include reference letters, including references from judges before whom you have appeared in a professional capacity. Even if you meet the requirements of your provincial court, expect a lengthy interview process before you are offered any position as a judge.
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Tips & Warnings
The province of Quebec operates under a different legal system than the rest of Canada. Those wishing to become judges in the Quebec system would need to practice law in Quebec to be considered.
