Steps to become a Lawyer/Attorney in Canadian Provinces / Territories

Follow the step by step process or choose what situation that best describes you:

1. Get Your Undergraduate Pre-Law Degree in Canada
2. Take the LSAT (Law School Admission Test)
3. Go to Law School in Canada
4. Complete Your Province’s Bar Admission Course and Articling

Lawyer Career info in Canada

There are 14 territorial and provincial law societies across Canada responsible for controlling over 120,000 lawyers as of 2019 (as well as 3800 notaries in Quebec and 9000 independent paralegals in the public interest in Ontario).  The national coordinating body of Canadian lawyers is The Federation of Law Societies of Canada (FLSC), which is responsible for developing national regulations standards for the legal profession.  

According to its 2016 Statistical Report, the FLSC has compiled the following numbers of active, practicing attorneys in each Canadian province/territory:

• British Columbia:                               11,656
• Alberta:                                               9,720
• Saskatchewan:                                   2,158
• Manitoba:                                           2,064
• Ontario:                                              42,359
• Baneau du Quebec:                           25,766
• Chamber des Notaires du Quebec:   3,498
• New Brunswick:                                 1,326
• Nova Scotia:                                       2,017
• Prince Edward Island:                         244
• Newfoundland & Labrador:                753
• Yukon:                                                 316
• Northwest Territories:                          397
• Nunavut:                                              n/a

If your ambition is to join their ranks and become a lawyer in Canada, keep reading.Step 1

Get Your Canadian Undergraduate Pre-Law Major

Most Canadian law schools require that you have a bachelor’s degree or have completed 90 credit hours (three years) towards a bachelor’s degree, prior to entering law school. Check the LSAC Official Guide to Canadian Law Schools for your chosen school’s admission policies regarding undergraduate education.

Accreditation

Because Canadian education is regulated on a provincial level, there are no national accreditation bodies for Canadian colleges and universities. Government organizations recognize certain colleges and universities within their jurisdiction. There are certain national associations that establish quality standards and regulate colleges and universities, including:

• Alberta Ministry of Innovation and Advanced Education
• British Columbia Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills & Training
• Association of Commonwealth Universities
• Degree Quality Assessment Board of British Columbia
• Campus Alberta Quality Council
• Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario
• Ontario Universities Council on Quality Assurance
• Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities
• Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Board (Ontario)
• Manitoba Ministry of Advanced Education
• Manitoba-Saskatchewan Universities Program Review Audit Council
• Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission.
• New Brunswick Ministry of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour
• Newfoundland Labrador Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills
• Nova Scotia Ministry of Labour and Advanced Education
• Prince Edward Island Department of Workforce and Advanced Learning
• Quebec Bureau de Cooperation Interuniversitaire
• Saskatchewan Ministry of Advanced Education

If your undergraduate institution is accredited by one of the above-mentioned organizations, you should be assured that Canadian law schools would accept your undergraduate education as valid.

Requirements and Standards

Again, each Canadian law school has its own requirements and standards regarding the undergraduate education you must complete before applying to law school. Most have credit requirements, while others may require certain courses to be taken. Check with your chosen law school’s policies for more information.

Degree Options

A Bachelor of Arts (BA) or Bachelor of Science (BS) in any field (or acceptable work towards such a degree) is usually sufficient for entry into a Canadian law school. Check with the individual law school that you are interested in attending for its policies.  

Step 2

LSAT (Law School Admission Test) in Canada

You must pass the LSAT, or Law School Admission Test, before you will be accepted into any LSAC-member Canadian law school. This standardized entrance test is given four times annually.  

How to prepare

You can access free study materials, such as practice tests and sample questions and answers, at the LSAT website. Other preparation material for the LSAT in Canada includes:
LSAT Exam Prep Courses in Canada:

• LSAT Prep Courses, Oxford Seminars, Locations Across Canada
• LSAT Prep, Richardson Prep Center, Toronto
• Official LSAT Prep, Khan Academy, online

Exam content

There are three key areas tested on the LSAT:

• Reading Comprehension – Long, complex passages resembling information you will encounter in law school and in the law profession are presented. You must answer questions based upon your ability to understand, make inferences, and draw conclusions from these passages.
• Analytical Reasoning– Your abilities to see relationships and draw conclusions are tested here.
• Logical Reasoning– You must identify the strengths and weaknesses in given arguments in this section of the LSAT.

Although not scored as part of the LSAT, you must also produce a writing sample on a given topic. This will be sent to the law schools to which you apply for their review.

Application process

Applications for the LSAT are taken online. The LSAT is given on Mondays and Saturdays in November, January, March, June and July. Examination centers across Canada include:  

• Alberta:
  • Bow Valley College, Calgary
  • University of Calgary, Calgary
  • University of Alberta, Edmonton
  • Grande Prairie Regional College, Grande Prairie
  • Burman University, Lacombe
  • University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge
• British Columbia:
  • British Columbia Institute of Technology, Burnaby
  • North Island College, Courtenay
  • Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops
  • University of British Columbia-Okanagan, Kelowna
  • Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo
  • Ashton Testing Services LTD, Vancouver
  • University of British Columbia, Vancouver
  • Camosun College-Lansdowne Campus, Victoria
  • University of Victoria, Victoria
• Manitoba:
  • Assiniboine Community College, Brandon
  • Brandon University, Brandon
  • Canad Inns Destination Centre Fort Garry, Winnipeg
• New Brunswick:
  • University of New Brunswick, Fredericton
  • Mount Allison University, Sackville
• Newfoundland/Labrador:
  • Memorial University of Newfoundland – Grenfell Campus, Corner Brook
  • Memorial University of Newfoundland, Saint John’s
• Nova Scotia:
  • St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish
  • Dalhousie University, Halifax
  • Cape Breton University, Sydney
• Nunavut:
  • Law Society of Nunavut, Iqaluit
• Ontario:
  • Loyalist College, Belleville
  • Saint Lawrence College, Cornwall
  • Queen’s College, Etobicoke
  • McMaster University, Hamilton
  • KLC College, Kingston
  • Queen’s University, Kingston
  • Saint Lawrence College, Kingston
  • University of Western Ontario, London
  • Dewey College, Mississauga
  • Niagara College, Niagara-on-the-Lake
  • Algonquin College, Ottawa
  • Saint Paul University, Ottawa
  • University of Ottawa, Ottawa
  • Trent University, Peterborough
  • Algoma University, Sault Ste Marie
  • Cambrian College, Sudbury
  • Lakehead University, Thunder Bay
  • Father John Redmond Catholic Secondary School, Toronto
  • Humber Institute of Technical and Advanced Learning, Toronto
  • Madonna Catholic Secondary School, Toronto
  • St. Basil-the-Great College School, Toronto
  • University of Toronto, Toronto
  • Wilfred Laurier University, Waterloo
  • University of Windsor Faculty of Law, Windsor
  • University of Windsor, Windsor
• Prince Edward Island:
  • University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown
• Quebec:
  • McGill University, Montreal
• Saskatchewan:
  • University of Regina, Regina
  • University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon
• Yukon:
  • Yukon College, Whitehorse

Receiving Your Score

Your LSAT score, which will be between 120 and 180, will be mailed to you three weeks after the date of the exam.  

Step 3

Go to Law School in Canada

The next step in the process of becoming a Canadian lawyer is to go to law school. View the LSAC Official Guide to Canadian Law Schools for application procedures for the law school in which you intend to apply for admission. There are 24 law schools in Canada, each of which offers a professional law degree in one or both of Canada’s law systems.  Two legal traditions exist in Canada: French civil law, dominant in Quebec; and English common law, dominant in all other provinces and territories. If you intend to practice law in Quebec, you must graduate from a Quebec law school. If you intend to practice in an English common law jurisdiction in Canada, you must graduate from one of the common-law schools in the other provinces/territories. Canada has mobility agreements among the provinces/territories that allow lawyers licensed in one common-law jurisdiction to practice in another common-law jurisdiction.

Application process

Ontario Law Schools

If you are applying to any law school in Ontario, you must apply online through Ontario Universities Application Centre. Instructions will be given on what is needed, such as undergraduate transcripts, letters of recommendation, community involvement, personal statement, and LSAT scores, when you apply.

Law Schools in Other Provinces

Each law school has its own admission policies and requirements. Check with your individual law school for its expectations.

Accreditation

The Law Society of Ontario
The Law Society of Ontario requires that you graduate from a law school approved by Convocation in order for your law education to be provincially recognized. All schools listed under “Law Schools in Canada” below are approved by Convocation.

Barreau du Québec

The Barreau du Quebec requires that you graduate from a French civil law school in order to become a licensed lawyer in Quebec. Approved law schools offering French civil law degrees include:

• Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec
• University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, Ottawa, Ontario
• Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec
• Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec
• McGill University Faculty of Law, Montreal, Quebec
• Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Montreal, Quebec

All other law societies
Other provincial law societiesrequire that you graduate from a Canadian common-law university. All schools below except McGill University are common-law schools.

Law Schools in Canada

Law schools in Canada offering English common law degrees include:

• Alberta:
  • University of Alberta Faculty of Law, Edmonton
  • University of Calgary Faculty of Law, Calgary
• British Columbia:
  • University of British Columbia Peter A. Allard School of Law, Vancouver
  • University of Victoria Faculty of Law, Victoria
  • Thompson Rivers University Faculty of Law, Kamloops
• Manitoba:
  • University of Manitoba -Robson Hall Faculty of Law, Winnipeg
• New Brunswick:
  • University of New Brunswick Faculty of Law, Fredericton
• Newfoundland:
  • No law schools
• Northwest Territories:
  • No law schools
• Nova Scotia:
  • Dalhousie University Schulich School of Law, Halifax
• Nunavut:
  • No law schools
• Ontario:
  • Queen’s University Faculty of Law, Kingston
  • University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, Ottawa
  • University of Toronto Faculty of Law, Toronto
  • Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto
  • University of Windsor Faculty of Law, Windsor
  • Lakehead University-Bora Laskin Faculty of Law, Thunder Bay
  • Ryerson University Faculty of Law, Toronto
  • University of Western Ontario-Western Law, London
• Prince Edward Island:
  • No law schools
• Quebec:
  • McGill University Faculty of Law, Montreal
• Saskatchewan:
  • University of Saskatchewan Faculty of Law, Saskatoon
• Yukon:
  • No law schools

Two law schools in Canada outside of Quebec also offer French civil law degrees:

• University of Ottawa Droit Civil, Ottawa, Ontario
• Université de Moncton Faculté de Droit, Edmundston, New Brunswick

Online Law Degrees

• View Online and Campus Law and Legal Studies Programs
  • (For students who choose to focus on a subset of law other than an attorney.)

Foreign law schools

If you attend a foreign law school and wish to become a Canadian lawyer, your education must be approved by the National Committee on Accreditation (NCA). You must submit your qualifications and experience in law to the NCA. The NCA will then determine what, if any, further coursework you must complete at an approved Canadian law school prior to licensure as a lawyer in your province. You may also be asked to complete examinations in order to qualify for licensure. If you qualify, you will be issued a Certificate of Qualification, which you may use to seek entry to your province’s law society.

Degree Programs

You must complete a Bachelor of Laws (L.L.B.) program or Juris Doctor (J.D.) program in order to qualify for bar membership in any Canadian province or territory. This generally takes three years to complete.

Complete Your Province’s Bar Admission Course and Articling

The next step in becoming a Canadian lawyer in all provinces is to complete your province’s Bar Admission Course. This differs a bit from one province to the next, as you will see below.

Ontario (Law Society of Ontario)

Ontario requires applicants to complete the Barrister Licensing Examination and the Solicitor Licensing Examination.  Both are self-study, open-book exams. The Barrister Examination tests your knowledge of Practice Management Issues; Litigation Process; Alternative Dispute Resolution; Problem/Issue Identification, Analysis and Assessment; Establishing and Maintaining the Barrister-Client Relationship; Ethical and Professional Responsibilities; and Knowledge of Ontario law, Federal legislation and Case Law.  The Solicitor Examination tests your knowledge of Ontario, Federal and Case law, along with all policies, procedures and forms; Ethical and Professional Responsibility; Establishing and Maintaining the Solicitor-Client Relationship; Practice Management; and Fulfilling the Retainer. Each exam takes seven hours to complete and can be done online.  Check out this video for more information on the licensing exams for Ontario.

After finishing this step, you must complete Experiential Training. This may be through a Law Practice Program or Articling Program.  The Articling Program involves a 10-month placement with a principal (licensed lawyer) who must approve of your work. The Law Practice Program involves a four-month training course and four-month work placement.  

Additionally, you must satisfy the Good Character Requirement under the Law Society Act. This simply means that you must answer questions about your character by completing an application.

Once you have completed all of these steps, you will be called to the Bar of Ontario. Calls are held every September and January in Toronto and June in London, Ottawa and Toronto. There, you will be conferred with the degree of Barrister-at-Law, receive a Court Certificate of Qualification, and will be sworn in and enrolled.

British Columbia (Law Society of British Columbia)

You must complete the Law Society Admission Program, a 12-month program that includes:

• Completion of nine months of articling in a law firm or other legal workplace. You must obtain your own articling position before applying to the Law Society Admission Program, and work full-time continuously for at least nine months
• Completion of a 10-week Professional Legal Training Course (PLTC). This course covers legal practice and procedure, legal skills, ethics, and practice management. Classes are held at the Law Society in Vancouver and at Camosun College in Victoria.
• Passing two qualification examinations covering the PLTC Practice Material, which includes:
  • Civil litigation
  • Criminal procedure
  • Family law
  • Commercial law
  • Company law
  • Estates
  • Practice Management
  • Professional responsibility
  • Real estate
  • Wills
  • Ethics

After completing these requirements, you will receive a package from the Law Society including an application for call and admission, plus membership options and fees due. You must be presented formally to the court in a call and admission ceremony, where you must take the barristers and solicitor’s oath before you will be eligible to practice law in British Columbia.

Alberta (Law Society of Alberta )

To become a Student-at-Law, you must complete the Law Society of Alberta Admission Program.  This entails completing the Centre for Professional Legal Education (CPLED) course and a clerkship/ articling period.

The CPLED program is shared by Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. It is based on a Competency Profile, or skills and competencies needed by new lawyers. You are evaluated on these competencies before you pass the course:

• Lawyering skills
• Practice and management skills
• Ethics and professionalism
• Legal knowledge

The Articling Program usually consists of a 12-month work period (or reduced to five months if you have already completed a clerkship with the courts). You work for a principal during this period. You and the principal must complete an Evaluation Certificate and submit it to the Law Society within six months of completing the Articling Program.

Before completing your CPLED and Articling Program, you must schedule your Bar Call at the Court of Queen’s Bench in Calgary or Edmonton, or at the Provincial Court of Alberta (for Bar Admissions south of Red Deer) or the Provincial Court of Alberta (for bar admissions in Red Deer, Edmonton and northern Alberta). Your Bar Call date must be scheduled for at least 30 days after your completed enrolment application and fees are received in Law Society of Alberta’s Calgary office. When the Court House has confirmed your Bar Call date, submit a Notification of Call Ceremony and Membership Information Form. You will be instructed as to fees and documentation necessary to submit prior to bar admission.

Manitoba (Law Society of Manitoba )

If you want to become a Manitoba lawyer, after law school you must complete the Law Society of Manitoba’s Pre-Call Education Program. This involves the Manitoba CPLED Program and an Articling period. The CPLED program includes both face-to-face and online classes in:

• Drafting Wills
• Drafting Contracts
• Drafting Pleadings
• Oral Advocacy
• Legal Research and Writing
• Written Advice and Advocacy
• Negotiations
• Practice Management

The Articling Program consists of 52 weeks working full-time for a principal. You will work under the supervision of a lawyer approved as a principal by the Law Society of Manitoba.

After completing all requirements, you will be instructed to submit the proper application and fees for your ball call. The Law Society will arrange for your call ceremony. Once your bar call date is confirmed, you must submit an Application to Commence Active Practice and attend the scheduled call ceremony before you can practice as a Manitoba lawyer.

Saskatchewan (Law Society of Saskatchewan)

You must complete the CPLED Bar Admissions Program and a 12-month Articling Period prior to becoming a lawyer in Saskatchewan. First, apply to become a Student-at-Law. Next, secure an articling position, in which you will work for 12 months under a principal (licensed lawyer in Saskatchewan). Then, complete the CPLED Bar Admissions Program, focusing on the following competencies: Drafting Wills, Legal Research and Writing, Practice Management, Interviewing and Advising, Written Advice and Advocacy, Drafting Litigation Pleadings, Drafting Contracts, Negotiation, Oral Advocacy, and Ethics and Professionalism. Classes are conducted through online and face-to-face modules. You are required to complete Assignments and Competency Evaluations during the program.

After completing these requirements, you must apply to become a Saskatchewan lawyer. This involves signing the Law Society Roll at the Regina Law Society office and paying fees. Your Application for Admission as a Lawyer must be submitted and approved before appointments to sign the roll are made. Formal presentation ceremonies to introduce newly admitted lawyers to the Court are conducted in the fall.

Nova Scotia (Nova Scotia Barristers Society)

The Bar Admissions process of the Nova Scotia Barristers Society involves completing a Skills Course and year of Articling,  and a Bar Examination. The Skills Course covers Practice Management Skills (online); Interviewing, Negotiation and Litigation Skills (in-person at the Society offices in Halifax); Legal Writing Skills (online) and Legal Drafting Skills (online).

You must complete 12 months of Articling simultaneously. This experiential learning program involves working as a clerk for a lawyer. You must find your own articling position and complete the application. Read the Articling Handbook for more information.

You must then take a two-day essay format Bar Examination, testing your knowledge and skills in:

• Administrative law
• Aboriginal law
• Business organizations
• Constitutional law
• Commercial transactions
• Criminal law
• Contracts
• Evidence
• Professional responsibility
• Family law
• Torts
• Real estate law
• Wills and probate
• Trial procedure

Once you are eligible for bar admission, you will be called by the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society for membership. Admission ceremonies occur throughout the year.

Quebec (Barreau du Quebec)

After finishing your law school training period of three years and obtaining an undergraduate degree in Quebec civil law from one of the recognized universities (see Step 3 above), you must work at the Quebec Bar School (Ecole du Barreau de Quebec), gaining professional training and practice, for four months. Then you are placed in a Work Placement (Articling Period) for six months. Next, you must take an examination in spoken and written French set by the Office de la Langue Francaise. Finally, you may make application to the Quebec Bar for membership.

New Brunswick (Law Society of New Brunswick)

Once your law school education is completed, you must complete the Law Society’s Admission Program. This consists of:

• Providing proof that you are of good character and repute. Questions relating to this are found on the Application Form for Admission as a Student-at-Law, which you must submit along with an enrollment fee by June 1. Along with this, submit original transcripts from all post-secondary institutions you have attended, as well as the Application and Registration for Bar Admission Course and its registration fees.
• Securing and completing a 48-week Articling Period, in which you work as a clerk for a principal (lawyer approved by the Society to supervise your work). Submit the Articling Agreement to the society no later than two weeks after starting your articling period, along with your Education Plan.
• Completing four weeks of full-time class attendance at the Bar Admission Course on legal competencies and skills held in Fredericton.
• Passing the Law Society of New Brunswick Bar Examination, which includes:
  • Examination on the Rules of Court of New Brunswick
  • Examination on New Brunswick Statutes

After completing all the above requirements, you may petition the Society for admission as a Barrister and Solicitor. You will take the oath of office at an Admission Ceremony in Fredericton.

Prince Edward Island (Law Society of Prince Edward Island)

Before enrolling in the Law Society of Prince Edward Islands’ mandatory Articling Clerk program, you must complete the following courses in law school:

• Civil procedure
• Canadian Constitutional law
• Criminal law
• Contracts
• Property Law
• Ethics and Professional Responsibility
• Torts

And four of the following seven courses:

• Commercial law
• Criminal procedure
• Evidence
• Corporate law
• Wills/trusts
• Family law
• Administrative law

The Articling Program is a 12-month program in which you work as a clerk under the supervision of a Principal (a lawyer with at least five years of bar experience). You must secure your own position.

You must then complete a Bar Admission Course, consisting of a two-week in –person course in Charlottetown in the fall.  It includes information on practice and substantive law that is specific to PEI and practical lawyering skills.

Once you have completed the Bar Admission Course and articling period, you are eligible for admission as a member of the Law Society and to take the oaths of office in a court ceremony. You will then be a lawyer who may practice in Prince Edward Island.

Newfoundland and Labrador (Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador)

Admission to the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador consists of an Articling Period and Bar Admissions Course. Before beginning this process, you must complete the law school courses listed above in the Prince Edward Island section.

After being admitted as a Student-at-Law, you must complete the Articling Period, working as a clerk for a principal. Contact the Law Society for more details on applying for this program.
The Bar Admission Course lasts seven weeks and is offered in October and November only. It is a concentrated program focusing on Civil Procedure, Criminal Law, Family Law, Administrative Law, Corporate Law, Commercial Law, Real Estate & Wills. You will also be taking Bar Admission Examinations during this time.

After fulfilling these requirements, you will be eligible for membership in the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador and to legally practice law in the provinces.

Yukon (Law Society of Yukon)

After completing your law school education, apply for Student-at-Law status with the Law Society of Yukon. You will then complete a 12-month term of Articling and a Bar Admissions Course and Examinations. You may, during your term of Articles, appear and act as counsel in a Yukon Territorial Court, a Yukon Supreme Court, and any Yukon Court in approved areas under the supervision of a Principal.  During this period, you must also attend the Bar Admissions Course and pass all examinations. Once these requirements are completed, you may apply for admission to the Law Society of Yukon and work in the territory as a licensed lawyer.

Northwest Territories and Nunavut (Law Society of the Northwest Territories) (Law Society of Nunavut)

Under the Legal Profession Act of the Northwest Territories and of Nunavut, you must apply to become a Student-at-Law after finishing law school. Once you are a Student-at-Law, you will serve 12 months of service in articles of clerkship approved by the Society to a member. This member may be a judge of the Northwest Territories/Nunavut Court of Justice; a Judge of the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Canada or of a superior court of a province or territory; or a barrister and solicitor who does not live in Northwest Territories/Nunavut but is an active member in good standing and has practiced law for at least five years.

Then, you must take the CPLED Bar Admissions Course and pass the Bar Admissions Examination. Finally, you will be eligible for membership in the Law Society of the Northwest Territories and/or of the Law Society of Nunavut.