At what age must justices of the Supreme Court of Canada retire? They must retire at age 75.
Section 9(2) of Canada’s Supreme Court Act provides that a judge “shall cease to hold office” upon attaining 75. The rule applies to the chief justice and the eight puisne justices of the Court. It is a mandatory retirement age, not merely the age at which a justice becomes eligible to collect a pension.
The Supreme Court of Canada was created in 1875, and its original justices had life tenure. Parliament introduced mandatory retirement at 75 in 1927, amid concerns about older judges’ health and recurring absences from the bench. The rule is therefore a statutory feature of the Court’s modern structure.
The age is sometimes confused with retirement rules for other Canadian judges. Federally appointed judges generally retire at 75, but some provincial and territorial courts have different rules, including age 70 in certain jurisdictions. The Supreme Court itself is also distinct from Canada’s provincial superior courts, even though both systems emphasize security of tenure and judicial independence.