As of 2026-10-07, 24 official documents govern AI use by lawyers, judges or litigants in Canada. 9 require disclosure or certification of AI use, 21 impose an explicit verification duty, and 1 prohibits some use outright. The incident tracker records 11 incidents in this jurisdiction.
Plain-language guidance published by the Provincial Court of British Columbia on 8 July 2026 for lawyers and self-represented litigants. It warns of hallucinated citations, requires independent verification, asks users to hyperlink authorities, requires an honest answer if a judge asks whether AI was used, and cautions against uploading personal information to AI tools.
Announced 12 February 2026 and added to the Ontario Superior Court's consolidated civil, family and criminal practice directions. The directions require all legal information obtained with AI assistance to be verified against trusted and authoritative sources, require authorities to be hyperlinked to publicly accessible sites such as CanLII, and set out the consequences of misuse.
Practice direction / note · Verification duty · Certification · Record-keeping
Signed by Chief Justice M.D. Popescul and effective 1 January 2026. The directive does not prohibit appropriate AI use; it places the onus on whoever files or presents materials to ensure accuracy, authenticity and reliability, and requires independent verification of every AI-derived authority against official, commercial or CanLII sources.
Practice direction / note · Verification duty · Supervision · Competence · Permissive
Interim principles published by the Federal Court of Canada on 29 September 2025 governing the court's own use of AI. The court commits not to use AI or automated decision-making in determining the outcome of cases without prior public consultation, and sets accountability, transparency and confidentiality requirements for administrative uses by judges and staff.
A governance framework adopted by the Superior Court of Quebec in September 2025 for the court's own AI use, alongside a chatbot pilot as a judicial support tool. It sets six principles: transparency and public confidence, judicial independence, support for judicial functions, ethics and professional conduct, caution, and responsibility, and requires rigorous verification of AI-generated content.
A notice of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal issued on 14 March 2025 governing the use of artificial intelligence in appeal proceedings. It requires parties and counsel to verify every authority and every piece of analysis derived from AI against authoritative sources before it is included in appeal materials.
A practical resource from the Law Society of Alberta, first published January 2024 and updated March 2025, setting out rules of engagement for Canadian lawyers using generative AI. It is permissive with cautions: verify everything, protect confidentiality and privilege, understand the tool, comply with court disclosure directions, and keep the lawyer accountable for the work.
A notice of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia issued on 28 February 2025 on ensuring the integrity of court submissions when generative AI is used. It requires anyone filing materials to verify authorities and analysis derived from generative AI against authoritative sources before those materials are submitted.
An amendment to Ontario's Rules of Civil Procedure, in force 1 December 2024, requiring every factum to include a certification that the person signing it is satisfied as to the authenticity of every authority cited. Authorities drawn from CanLII or official court websites are presumed authentic. The rule targets fabricated citations without naming AI.
Launched on 25 October 2024, the Barreau du Quebec's practical guide to responsible use of generative AI applies the Code of Professional Conduct of Lawyers to AI-assisted practice. It requires verification, confidentiality safeguards and competence, and directs members to comply with the AI notices issued by the Quebec and federal courts.
A directive of the Registrar in Bankruptcy in Nova Scotia issued on 4 October 2024, extending the Nova Scotia courts' approach to artificial intelligence to bankruptcy proceedings. It requires disclosure of AI use in materials filed with the Registrar and places responsibility for their accuracy on the filing party.
Guidelines drafted by the Canadian Judicial Council's Technology Committee and published in September 2024 for federally appointed judges. They raise awareness of AI risks and set a principled framework for appropriate use: judicial independence, ethical use, safety, transparency, monitoring and continuing education. Judges retain exclusive responsibility for their decisions and may not delegate decision-making.
The Federal Court of Canada's notice, first issued 20 December 2023 and updated 7 May 2024, requires parties and counsel to declare in the first paragraph of any document containing AI-generated content that AI was used to prepare it, and to verify that content. It was among the first mandatory disclosure rules for court filings in a common-law jurisdiction.
Practice direction / note · Disclosure · Verification duty
Guidelines published by the Law Society of Manitoba in April 2024 applying the Code of Professional Conduct to generative AI use by Manitoba lawyers, covering competence, confidentiality, verification of output and supervision, and complementing the Court of King's Bench disclosure practice direction.
The Law Society of Ontario's April 2024 white paper on licensee use of generative AI applies the Rules of Professional Conduct and Paralegal Rules to lawyers and paralegals in Ontario. It is permissive with cautions: licensees must verify output, protect confidentiality and privilege, remain competent, and consider whether to tell clients they intend to use generative AI, weighing listed factors.
Guidelines published by the Law Society of Saskatchewan in February 2024 applying the Code of Professional Conduct to generative artificial intelligence: competence in the tool being used, confidentiality of client information, verification of output before reliance, and supervision of AI-assisted work carried out by staff and students.
A short guide published by the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society in December 2023 explaining what generative AI is and whether lawyers can or should use it. It applies the Code of Professional Conduct to AI: competence, confidentiality, verification of output, and the lawyer's continuing responsibility for the work.
Guidance from the Law Society of British Columbia, issued November 2023, on how the Code of Professional Conduct applies when BC lawyers use generative AI. It is permissive with cautions, stressing that lawyers must verify output, keep client information confidential, remain competent in the technology, and understand that AI does not change their professional obligations.
A directive of the Nova Scotia Provincial Court issued on 27 October 2023, the province's first court instrument on artificial intelligence. It requires parties to disclose the use of AI in preparing court submissions and to protect the integrity of those submissions by verifying AI-derived material before filing.
Practice direction / note · Disclosure · Verification duty
A notice issued on 12 October 2023 by the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador to the profession and the general public, requiring anyone preparing court submissions with large language models to verify all authorities and analysis against authoritative sources before those submissions are filed with the court.
A joint notice issued on 6 October 2023 by all three Alberta courts. It urges caution when referencing legal authorities or analysis derived from large language models, requires reliance exclusively on authoritative sources such as official court sites, established commercial publishers or CanLII, and requires meaningful human control over AI-assisted submissions.
Practice direction / note · Verification duty · Supervision
Practice Direction GENERAL-29, issued by the Supreme Court of Yukon on 26 June 2023, requires any party relying on artificial intelligence for legal research or submissions to advise the court of the tool used and how it was used. It followed the Manitoba direction by three days and applies to lawyers and self-represented litigants.
A practice direction issued 23 June 2023 by the Court of King's Bench of Manitoba, one of the first court rules on AI anywhere. When artificial intelligence has been used in the preparation of materials filed with the court, the materials must indicate how AI was used. The direction applies to lawyers and self-represented parties alike.
Guidance published by the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador in March 2023, among the earliest Canadian law society material on artificial intelligence, applying the professional conduct duties of competence, confidentiality and accountability to the use of AI tools in the practice of law.
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