Doing Legal Research in Canada

This page is an online guide to doing legal research in Canada. The guide provides information and links to print and online resources and is aimed primarily at researchers outside of Canada needing an overview of Canadian legal research. There are six major sections:

  1. Introduction: The Canadian Legal System
  2. Canadian Primary Legal Resources
  3. Canadian Secondary Legal Resources
  4. Canadian Legal Organizations (law libraries, law schools, . . .)
  5. Canadian Legal Publishers (including online vendors)
  6. Canadian Legal Research: By Topic

A detailed table of contents is set out below. To find information in this research guide, either click on one of the six major sections above or browse through the detailed table of contents below and click on a particular part of one of the six major sections.

Detailed Table of Contents

  1. Introduction: The Canadian Legal System
    1. The Canadian government
    2. Division of power: federal vs. provincial power
    3. History of Canada
    4. The Canadian judicial system
    5. The Canadian legislative system
    6. The Charter of Rights & Freedoms
    7. Legal Research in Québec
    8. Legal classification in Canada (KF Modified)
    9. Differences in laws between Canada and the United States
  2. Canadian Primary Legal Resources
    1. Canadian legislation
    2. Canadian case law
    3. Canadian administrative tribunal decisions
  3. Canadian Secondary Legal Resources
    1. Textbooks/treatises
    2. Legal Journals
    3. Encyclopedias
    4. Case digests and case-finding tools
    5. Legal research guides
    6. Legal directories
    7. WWW Meta-sites for legal research
    8. Canadian law libraries/library catalogs
    9. Canadian law schools/law societies
    10. Jobs for law librarians/legal researchers in Canada
  4. Canadian Legal Organizations (law libraries, law schools, . . .)
    1. Canadian law libraries and library catalogs
    2. Canadian law library organizations
    3. Canadian law schools
    4. Canadian law societies and bar associations
    5. Canadian law firms
    6. Canadian law-related organizations (miscellaneous)
  5. Canadian Legal Publishers (including online vendors)
    1. Introduction to Canadian Legal Publishing
    2. Used-Book Dealers (Legal Materials)
    3. Butterworths Canada and Lexis-Nexis Canada <online>
    4. Canada Law Book <online>
    5. Carswell and WestlaweCARSWELL <online>
    6. Canadian Bar Association Publications
    7. CCH Canadian and CCH iWorks <online>
    8. Continuing Legal Education of B.C.
    9. Dye & Durham
    10. Emond Montgomery Publications
    11. Federal Publications Inc.
    12. Infomart Dialog Limited <online>
    13. Irwin Law
    14. LSUC – CLE Publications
    15. Maritime Law Book <online>
    16. McGraw-Hill Ryerson
    17. Micromedia Proquest <online>
    18. Publications Ontario On-Line (POOL)
    19. QUICKLAW <online>
    20. Self-Counsel Press
    21. SOQUIJ <online>
    22. Western Legal Publications
  6. Canadian Legal Research: By Topic
    1. Aboriginal law – Canada
    2. Administrative law – Canada
    3. Banking law – Canada
    4. Bankruptcy and insolvency law – Canada
    5. Civil procedure – Canada
    6. Communications law – Canada
    7. Constitutional law – Canada
    8. Contract law – Canada
    9. Corporate law – Canada
    10. Criminal law – Canada
    11. Crown law – Canada
    12. Damages – Canada
    13. Debtor/creditor law – Canada
    14. Employment & labour law – Canada
    15. Environmental law – Canada
    16. Family law – Canada
    17. Immigration law – Canada
    18. Insurance law – Canada
    19. Intellectual property law – Canada
    20. Labour law – Canada
    21. Real property law – Canada
    22. Securities law – Canada
    23. Taxation law – Canada
    24. Tort law – Canada
    25. Trusts and estates law – Canada

© 2000-2008 Ted Tjaden. Users may browse, download, print and link to this “Doing Legal Research in Canada Guide” for any non-commercial use or for educational use.

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