LAW Legal Citation (McGill Guide) Quick Reference

Print example:

Philip H Osborne, The Law of Torts, 2nd ed (Toronto: Irwin Law, 2003) at 44.

Print example citing to a specific essay within a book that is a collection of essays:

Helen R Won, “Evidence and Eye Witnesses” in Ronald Joseph Delisle & Don Stuart, eds, Evidence: Principles and Problems, 6th ed (Toronto: Carswell, 2001) 43 at 45.

Electronic example:

Philip H Osborne, The Law of Torts, 3rd ed (Toronto: Irwin Law, 2007) at 44.

Note: The McGill Guide requires the regular edition abbreviations for 2nd and 3rd but not for case reporters, where they are written 2d and 3d.

Loose-leaf example (Rule 6.18.2):

Peter W Hogg, "Constitutional Law of Canada, 5th Edition" (11 August 2023) at 30:3, online: (WL Can) Thomson Reuters Canada.

Common journal title abbreviations can be found in Appendix D. For online articles, cite as though they are print; there is no need to include the electronic service information. Include the issue where it is available. Many articles found in databases will have a DOI listed with the rest of their bibliographic information. Some items are not assigned DOIs. If the article you are citing does not have an obvious DOI, you can use the CrossRef website to check to see if it has been assigned an DOI. If a DOI has not been assigned to the journal article, you do not need to include it.

Examples:

Fenner L Stewart & Allan Ingelson, "Regulating Energy Innovation: US Responses to Hydraulic Fracturing, Wastewater Injection and Induced Seismicity" (2017) 35:2 Energy Nat Resources L 109.

Steven A Kennett, Arlene J Kwasniak & Alastair R Lucas, “Property Rights and the Legal Framework for Carbon Sequestration on Agricultural Land” (2005-2006) 37:2 Ottawa L Rev 171 at 176-78.

Thomas Mcinerney et al, “Recent Regulatory and Legislative Developments of Interest to Energy Lawyers” (2014) 52:2 Alta L Rev 453.

Donal K Coffey, “’The Right to Shoot Himself’: Secession in the British Commonwealth of Nations” (2018) 39:2 J Leg Hist 117.
 

You may create your own journal abbreviation from the list in Rule 6.1.6.

Example:

J Intl Energy L for the Journal of International Energy Law

Electronic example:

Canada, Status of Women Canada, Report by the Government of Canada to the UN Commission on Human Rights, Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women (Ottawa: Status of Women Canada, 1998) at 5, online (pdf): Government of Canada <http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/SW21-72-1998E.pdf>.

Print example:

Alberta, Legislative Assembly, Standing Committee on Resources and Environment in Transcript No 27-3-6 (6 October 2010) at RE-307 (Chair: Ray Prins). 

Canadian Encyclopedic Digest (CED) (6.4.1):

CED 4th, Aboriginal Law, "Natural Resources Transfer Agreements" at § 218 (January 2022).

Halsbury's Laws of Canada (6.4.2):

Halsbury's Laws of Canada, vol 78, Real Property at HRP-111 "Scope of Land Titles Regime" (2021 Reissue).

Halsbury's Laws of Canada (online), Real Property, "Estates in Land: Land Titles" (I.7.(1)(a)) at HRP-111 "Scope of Land Titles Regime" (2021 Reissue).

PDF of a non-governmental report (6.19.1.1):

“Amnesty International Report 2011: The State of the World's Human Rights” (11 April 2002) at 274, online (pdf): Amnesty International <files.amnesty.org/air11/air_2011_full_en.pdf> [perma.cc/3REZ-69HE].

Occasional Paper (Working Papers, 6.18):

Rebeca Macias, "Public Participation in Energy and Natural Resources Development: a Theory and Criteria for Evaluation" (2010) Canadian Institute of Resources Law Occasional Paper No 34, online: University of Calgary Digital Repository, DOI: <http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/34308>.

N.B. These are often available in print. Cite to the source you have available.

Database example:

International Energy Agency, Key World Energy Statistics (2010), online: OECD iLibrary.

Blog example (6.19.1):

Nigel Bankes, "The Termination of Power Purchase Arrangements in Alberta: What is the Legal Position and What are the Implications of Termination?" (24 March 2016), online (blog): Ablawg <ablawg.ca/2016/03/24/the-termination-of-power-purchase-arrangements-in-alberta-what-is-the-legal-position-and-what-are-the-implications-of-termination/> [perma.cc/W65G-H4FQ].

Website example (6.19.1):

"Brief History of Drug Regulation in Canada" (11 April 2007), online: Health Canada <www.hc-sc.gc.ca> [perma.cc/Z53B-QMKP].

SSRN example (unpublished articles):

Barbara A Cosens et al, "The Columbia River Treaty and the Dynamics of Transboundary Water Negotiations in a Changing Environment: How Might Climate Change Alter the Game?" (2014) [unpublished], online: SSRN <papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2529264> [dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2529264]

Addresses and Papers Delivered at a Conference (unpublished) (6.10)

If the paper delivered at the conference was subsequently published, cite it in the same manner as a periodical (if published in a journal issue) or a collection of essays (if published as a collection).

Philippe Kirsch, Address (Paper delivered at the John C Tait Memorial Lecture in Law and Policy at the Faculty of Law, McGill University, Montreal, 7 October 2003) [unpublished].

Pierre N Leval, “Fair Use or Foul” (The Nineteenth Donald C Brace Memorial Lecture delivered at the New York University Law Center, New York, NY, 25 April 198), (1989) 36(3) J Copyright Soc USA 167 (HOL).

Twitter Post (6.19.1.5.2)

Barack Obama, “All across America people chose ot get involved, get engaged and stand up.  Each of us can make a difference, and all of us ought to try.  So go keep changing the world in 2018” (29 December 2017 at 8:11), online: Twitter <twitter.com/BarackObama/status/946775615893655552> [perma.cc/V54P-N8TZ]

Codes of Professional Conduct (6.5)

Code of Conduct, Edmonton: LSA, 2018, ch 3.6-7, online: Law Society of Alberta (pdf): <https://documents.lawsociety.ab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/14211909/Code/pdf> .