A Provincial Court is a lower-level trial court established by provincial or territorial governments. These courts handle most legal cases that enter the Canadian justice system. The Ontario Court of Justice is the Provincial Court of Ontario.

What issues do Provincial Courts deal with?

Provincial Courts are “statutory” courts, meaning they can only deal with matters specifically assigned to them by law. These matters generally fall into three main categories that affect the public:

1. Criminal Offences

Almost all criminal prosecutions will begin and be resolved in the Provincial Court. This court handles bail hearings, preliminary inquiries, and trials for summary conviction offences and some indictable offences. However, the most serious offences (like murder) are usually moved to the Superior Court for trial. Refer to Criminal Law for more information.

2. Family Law Related Disputes

The Provincial Court handles critical domestic matters involving children and financial support. This may include cases related to child protection, adoption, parenting arrangements, and support cases. Visit the Family Law section of Legal Line for more information.

Provincial Courts do not deal with family law related issues such as divorce, or property settlements since this the law assigns these matters to the Superior Courts. However, if your case involves both Provincial and Superior Court matters (e.g., child support in Provincial Court and divorce in Superior Court), you may be able to have everything heard in one place at a court that combines both jurisdictions under the Unified Family Court (UFC) Model. Refer to the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General webpage on Choosing the appropriate municipality and court for which jurisdictions follow this model.

3. Provincial Offences

The most common type of issue dealt with through the Provincial Court are provincial offences. These are non-criminal “regulatory” violations handled under under the Provincial Offences Act. These tend to be strict liability offences meaning that the court would not have to prove that you meant to break the law and only must prove that you did break the law. Provincial offences cover a diverse range of activities, but may be summed up as:

• Illegal sale of alcohol
• Sale of contaminated or unsafe food or drugs
• Sale of mislabeled or falsely advertised products
• Breaking laws that control narcotics or illegal drugs
• Public nuisances, such as anything that harms health, safety, comfort, or obstructs streets and sidewalks
• Traffic violations
• Breaking motor vehicle laws
• Breaking general police or municipal rules designed to protect public health, safety, or well-being

What issues do Provincial Courts not deal with?

Provincial Courts have limited jurisdiction, meaning their authority is restricted to matters specifically set out by law. If an issue falls outside that scope, it is handled by the Superior Court, which has “inherent jurisdiction” to hear almost any type of case.

1. Serious Criminal Offences

While the Provincial Courts handle 95% of criminal cases, they cannot conduct trials for the most severe offences. Instead, these cases must go to the Superior Court:

• • Serious offences required to go to the Superior Court can be found in s.469 of the Criminal Code. For indictable offences outside of s. 469, the accused usually has the choice to have their trial held at Provincial Court or Superior Court.
  • Jury Trials: Provincial Courts do not have juries meaning that if an accused person wants a trial by a judge and jury, it must be tried at the Superior Court.

2. Specific Family Law Issues

In locations without a UFC, the Provincial Court is legally blocked from handling:

• Divorce: Only a Superior Court can legally end a marriage.
• Property Division: A Provincial Court cannot decide who gets the house or how to split bank accounts (matrimonial property).

3. Standard Civil Lawsuits

The Provincial Court has no power over standard civil lawsuits (e.g., suing for a breach of contract, personal injury, etc.). In Ontario, these fall under the jurisdiction of the Superior Court of Justice, and are broken down into two categories:

• Civil claims under $50,000 will be heard through Ontario’s Small Claims Court.
• Civil claims over $50,000 will be heard directly through Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice.

More information

For more information on the division of the court system in Ontario, visit Ontario.ca

For more information regarding how Canada’s system of justice and the courts work, visit Canada’s Department of Justice at justice.gc.ca

								
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