LAW Canadian Cases and Decisions
Canadian Cases and Decisions
This guide is intended to help researchers locate cases and decisions. The tabs found above will open pages that provide links to sources for Canadian Federal as well as Alberta and the other provinces and territories case law. Legal databases may be restricted to University of Calgary users or to Faculty of Law users.
Finding Cases
A case is a decision made by a court or an administrative body. Released cases are made available to be published in case law reports. Although every judicial decision is documented not every case gets published (reported) so not every case is searchable.
Reported cases may be located by topic, case name or citation. Citations may be found in books or articles.Topical digests may provide headnotes that provide useful subject headings for finding cases on point. Cases can be located on legal databases using their citation. Case judgements may also be published directly by the court or administratve body where the decision was made.
If an unreported decision is not published by the court, the courthouse to may be asked to perform a file search for a fee.
Searching in print for cases
Once you have the title of the case reporter, search for it in the library search box to determine availability and location.
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Library Search BoxSearch many of our databases and collections as well as from traditional bibliographic sources (journal articles, dissertations, newspapers, etc.). It does not search legal databases.
Law report series may be available in print or electronically.
Print case reporters are located on the law library 1st floor. They include all general and many topical reporters for Canada, as well as some international and foreign reporters too.
Canadian Case Citations give standardized case names, available citations of decisions, case histories and judicial treatments. They are located in the law library reference collection (KE173 .C4345)
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Canadian case citations by CarswellCall Number: KE173 .C434ISBN: 11926813Publication Date: 1992-2014Part of the Canadian Abridgment - get standardized case names, available citations of decisions, case histories and judicial treatments.
Searching online databases for cases
Search for cases on a topic or legal issue by doing a keyword search, similar to searching on an internet search engine, in any of the databases below. You can limit the search to a particular province, jurisdiction or court.
If you know the name of the case or have the case's citation from a book, article or website, you can use that information as your search terms. For help understanding citations and information about citing cases please go to the LAW Legal Citation Cheat Sheet.
There are several electronic databases with links to case reports:
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CanLIICanLII, 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.
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WestlawNext CanadaWestlawNext Canada 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.
- LawSource provides you with a wealth of Canadian primary law, Case law, Legislation, and access leading editorial tools for legal research as Keycite® Canada (online case and statute citator), Canadian encyclopedic digest, Canadian abridgment digests, Index to Canadian legal literature (ICLL), Carswell law reports, Canadian statutes and regulations, reported decisions from Canadian courts and tribunals, Canadian law journals and law reviews
- LabourSource is home to grievance arbitration decisions, court decisions, Labour board decisions from accross Canada, collective bargaining materials, and exclusive access to leading labour commentary such as Brown & Beatty. LawSource provides you with a wealth of Canadian primary law, plus commentary and value-added tools such as KeyCite Canada, the Canadian Abridgment, the Canadian encyclopedic digest (CED), Words and phrases, and Canadian law reviews and journals
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WestlawNext Canada (UofC Law School only)WestlawNext Canada 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. N.B. Faculty of Law students and faculty may obtain an individual password.
- LawSource provides you with a wealth of Canadian primary law, Case law, Legislation, and access leading editorial tools for legal research as Keycite® Canada (online case and statute citator), Canadian encyclopedic digest, Canadian abridgment digests, Index to Canadian legal literature (ICLL), Carswell law reports, Canadian statutes and regulations, reported decisions from Canadian courts and tribunals, Canadian law journals and law reviews
- LabourSource is home to grievance arbitration decisions, court decisions, Labour board decisions from accross Canada, collective bargaining materials, and exclusive access to leading labour commentary such as Brown & Beatty. LawSource provides you with a wealth of Canadian primary law, plus commentary and value-added tools such as KeyCite Canada, the Canadian Abridgment, the Canadian encyclopedic digest (CED), Words and phrases, and Canadian law reviews and journals
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Lexis Advance Quicklaw
- Available to Faculty of Law students only
- Password access only
Content includes Canadian, US, UK, international and foreign legal materials.
Administrative Bodies
Different levels of government authorize Officials, Agencies, Boards, Commissions and Tribunals. These quasi-judicial bodies often make their decisions available through their own websites. The Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) also makes decisions from some boards accessible for free on the internet.
Administrative decisions may also be found using WestlawCanada or Quicklaw. Look for links in the Searching Online Databases for Cases box.
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CanLIICanLII, 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.
Legal citation
For help understanding citations and information about citing cases, please go to the LAW Legal Citation (McGill Guide) Cheat Sheet .
For help interpreting abbreviations, we suggest the Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations.
Bennett Jones Law Library

University of Calgary
2500 University Drive NW
Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4
- Last Updated: Feb 2, 2021 5:00 PM
- URL: https://library.ucalgary.ca/guides/Canadiancases
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