Shaping Canada

Shaping Canada

How has the Supreme Court defined the Canada we know today? Marking the 150th anniversary of the country’s highest court, Shaping Canada offers unprecedented access to those who interpret our laws. In this historic series, we sit down with leading constitutional scholars and, in a rare event, all nine sitting Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada. From Indigenous rights to medical assistance in dying and freedom of expression, discover the human stories behind the landmark rulings that shape our daily lives.

Episodes

150 Years of Landmark Decisions | Trailer

December 1, 2025 • 3 mins
Freedom of expression, the right to privacy, medical assistance in dying — these rights didn't always exist in Canada. They come from people like you and me who brought crucial questions before the courts. To mark the Supreme Court's 150th anniversary, all nine justices speak about their role and the responsibility it represents. With constitutional scholars from across the country, we explore the landmark decisions that have...
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Episode 01: 150 years of landmark decisions | Preliminary provisions

December 2, 2025 • 16 mins
Welcome to Shaping Canada: 150 Years of Landmark Decisions! In this inaugural episode, we set the stage for our journey through the Supreme Court's history. From its creation in 1875 to becoming Canada's true court of last resort in 1949, discover how this institution evolved. Learn about the nine justices, the unique bijural and bilingual nature of the Court, the leave to appeal process, and recent historic appointments including ...
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Episode 02 : 150 Years of landmark decisions with the Right Honourable Richard Wagner, Chief Justice of Canada

December 3, 2025 • 24 mins
An exclusive interview with the Right Honourable Richard Wagner, Chief Justice of Canada since 2017. From his 25-year legal practice in Montréal to the country's highest court, he shares his vision of access to justice, the landmark Vavilov decision on administrative law, and the living tree doctrine. He discusses bringing the Court closer to Canadians through plain-language summaries, sittings outside Ottawa, and cross-country tou...
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Episode 03 : 150 Years of Landmark Decisions with Justice Mahmud Jamal

December 4, 2025 • 14 mins
An exclusive conversation with the Honourable Mahmud Jamal, the first person of colour to serve on Canada's highest court. Appointed in July 2021, Justice Jamal shares how his immigrant journey, his belief in pluralism, and his experience studying law in both Canada and the United States shape his approach to judging. From balancing individual rights with state authority to applying the Charter's privacy protections to new technolo...
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Episode 04 : 150 Years of Landmark Decisions with Justice Sheilah L. Martin Episode 04 : 150 Years of Landmark Decisions with Justice Sheilah L. Martin

December 4, 2025 • 22 mins
An exclusive conversation with the Honourable Sheilah Martin, appointed to the Supreme Court in December 2017. A former law professor, Dean at the University of Calgary, and advocate for wrongfully convicted individuals, Justice Martin shares her commitment to equal justice for all. She explains how the Charter has transformed Canadian law — from self-defence standards for battered women to removing stereotypes in sexual assa...
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Episode 05 : 150 Years of Landmark Decisions with Justice Malcolm Rowe Episode 05 : 150 Years of Landmark Decisions with Justice Malcolm Rowe

December 5, 2025 • 25 mins
An exclusive conversation with the Honourable Malcolm Rowe, the first justice from Newfoundland and Labrador, appointed in 2016. With 40% of his career in non-legal roles — from Foreign Service Officer to architect of the "Turbot War" strategy — Justice Rowe brings unique practical insight to the bench. He explains stare decisis (standing by previous decisions), the line between private life and state intervention, and ...
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Episode 06 : 150 Years of Landmark Decisions with Justice Andromache Karakatsanis

December 8, 2025 • 27 mins
An exclusive conversation with the Honourable Andromache Karakatsanis, the first Greek-Canadian justice and the Court's longest-serving current member since her appointment in October 2011. A champion of access to justice, she authored the landmark Hryniak decision calling for a "culture shift" toward more affordable, timely justice. She discusses balancing accused rights with victim dignity in sexual assault cases (Goldfinch), the...
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Episode 07 : Limits on Rights and Freedoms with Professors Marcus Moore and Joel Bakan

December 11, 2025 • 40 mins
Are Charter rights absolute? In 1981, David Oakes was caught with drugs and faced a reverse onus forcing him to prove his innocence. His case became the foundation of Canadian constitutional law. Professors Joel Bakan and Marcus Moore — who clerked for Chief Justice Dickson during the Oakes decision — explain the landmark test that determines when governments can limit our rights. They unpack the four-part framework, th...
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Episode 08 : Freedom of Expression with Professor Richard Moon

December 11, 2025 • 49 mins
Does freedom of expression protect a commercial sales pitch? In 1989, Irwin Toy v. Quebec forced the Supreme Court to define the very scope of expression in Canada. Professor Richard Moon, Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Windsor, explains this landmark decision that shaped every Charter case since. From protecting advertising to setting limits on hate speech, from bubble zones to compelled speech, he unpacks h...
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Episode 09 : Search and Seizure Protections with Professor François Tanguay-Renaud

December 13, 2025 • 60 mins
Your home is your castle, but what about your phone, your text messages, your IP address? Professor François Tanguay-Renaud of Osgoode Hall Law School joins Shaping Canada to explore Hunter v. Southam (1984), the case that established Canada's warrant requirement and made privacy the cornerstone of Section 8 of the Charter. From the 1982 search of an Edmonton newspaper's offices to the 2024 IP-address ruling in Bykovets, this episo...
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Episode 10 : Medical Assistance in Dying with Professor Jocelyn Downie

December 16, 2025 • 46 mins
Is the right to life also the right to choose how we die? Professor Jocelyn Downie, a Member of the Order of Canada and leading scholar of Canadian health law, joins host Hugo Martin to trace the road from Rodriguez's narrow 1993 rejection of assisted dying to the Supreme Court's landmark 2015 decision in Carter v. Canada. They unpack the Charter arguments, the evidence that changed a precedent, and the legislative battles, Bill C-...
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Episode 11 : Indigenous Rights and the Sparrow Case with Professors Naiomi Metallic and Karen Drake

December 17, 2025 • 61 mins
For over a century, Indigenous rights in Canada were treated as revocable privileges "dependent on the goodwill of the Sovereign." In 1990, R. v. Sparrow (the Supreme Court's first interpretation of section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982) began to change that. Professors Naiomi Metallic and Karen Drake trace the road from Confederation to Sparrow, unpack the extinguishment and justification tests, and explain why Sparrow may be t...
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Episode 12 : Equality Rights with Professor Kerri Froc

December 18, 2025 • 59 mins
When the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms took effect, no one knew what its equality guarantee would actually require. In this episode of Shaping Canada, host Hugo Martin speaks with Professor Kerri Froc of the University of New Brunswick about Andrews v. Law Society of British Columbia (1989), the first case to define discrimination under Section 15. Froc traces the pre-Charter "horror story" of equality law, the deliberate...
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Episode 13 : Freedom of Religion with Professor Howard Kislowicz

December 19, 2025 • 45 mins
In 1982, a Calgary drug store stayed open on a Sunday — and launched the first freedom-of-religion case to reach the Supreme Court of Canada under the new Charter. Professor Howard Kislowicz of the University of Calgary joins Hugo Martin to unpack R. v. Big M Drug Mart (1985), which defined what religious freedom means, and Syndicat Northcrest v. Amselem (2004), which reshaped it around sincere personal belief. Together they ...
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