Borden Ladner Gervais LLP boasts a strong labour and employment offering, with key lawyers posted in Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and Ottawa. Employment matters, labour relations, collective bargaining, occupational health and safety, privacy, pensions and benefit, and immigration matters feature among the group’s specialities. André Royer steers the sizable national group from Montreal and acts for employers in relation to unlawful dismissal, conditions of employment, occupational health and safety, and labour relations matters. Additional key figures at the Montreal office include senior counsel and collective bargaining specialist Danny Kaufer, and Maryse Tremblay, who is known for advising federally regulated employers. Key Toronto contacts include litigator Matthew Certosimo and Clifford Hart, who covers both contentious and non-contentious matters. Over in Calgary, Duncan Marsden is active in the advisory space.

According to one client, the lawyers at Fasken‘s practice stand out for being ‘client-focused, responsive and timely’ in their provision of labour and employment counsel. The group demonstrates strength in advising national employers in the aerospace, telecoms, manufacturing and financial sectors, as well as provincial employers, US corporations and international clients, on the full gamut of contentious and non-contentious work. A trio of experienced partners share leadership of the national group: in Toronto, Karen Sargeant regularly appears before arbitrators, mediators and the Canada Industrial Relations Board; labour and employment all-rounder Stéphane Fillion co-leads from Montreal; and the ‘extremely capable’ David Wong is based in Vancouver. Additional key names in Toronto include counsel Brian Burkett and Jackie VanDerMeulen, both lauded as ‘simply superb’, as well as partner Alix Herber and associate Gillian Round. In Montreal, Magali Cournoyer-Proulx focuses on employment matters while over in Vancouver, David McDonald, majors on labour relations and collective bargaining.

The labour and employment practice at McCarthy Tétrault provides advisory and litigation support to finance, mining, retail and beverage-sector clients across Canada, delivered from offices in Toronto, Montréal, Québec City, Calgary and Vancouver. Toronto-based Tim Lawson leads the group at the national level, handling contentious and non-contentious work including collective bargaining and appearances before provincial and federal labour boards, often assisting clients in the energy, finance, transportation, retail and construction segments. Additional key contacts in Toronto include Toronto practice lead Sunil Kapur and all round labour practitioner Kate McNeill-Keller. Shana Wolch directs the Calgary team, which saw the promotion of Justin Turc to the partnership in January 2023. Partners André Baril (Montreal) and Christopher McHardy (Vancouver) are also noted for their activity in the practice area.

Norton Rose Fulbright‘s labour and employment practice is well-versed in advising on severance issues, boardroom disputes, class and collective actions, corporate governance and whistleblower claims, as well as other disciplinary and grievance issues. The team is co-led by seven partners from all six of the firm’s Canadian offices: Herb Isherwood, in Vancouver, stepped up to the practice co-head role in October 2022, joining existing lead Taryn Mackie; Daniel Leduc leads from Montreal and specializes in advising employers on the application and interpretation of collective agreements and labour standards. Anne K. Gallop (Toronto), Jean-Sébastien Cloutier (Quebec City), Lindsay Mullen (Calgary) and Tate McLeod (Ottawa) complete the leadership team. Additional names to note in Toronto include senior partner Richard Charney and litigators John Mastoras and Daniel MacDonald; François Côté in Montreal is noted for his expertise in grievance arbitration.

Bennett Jones LLP‘s labour and employment group is well-equipped to handle both contentious and contentious matters. Litigation and arbitration matters make up the team’s contentious caseload; on the advisory front, it frequently counsels clients in the oil and gas, logistics and finance segments on labour and employment matters arising from mergers, acquisitions, takeovers and reorganizations. Calgary-based John Gilmore heads up the department and focuses on wrongful dismissal claims, M&A, arbitration and litigation. Also in Calgary, Christine Plante is active on human resources matters. Edmonton-based partner Laura Inglis and the Toronto-based Susan Seller are also noted.

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP's practice regularly advises clients in the telecoms, banking, oil and gas and retail segments on labour and employment aspects of M&A and corporate reorganizations, in addition to handling cross-border employment issues and related litigation. Practice head Andrea York leads from Toronto, where key partner Holly Reid (harassment and misconduct allegations) is also based. In Calgary, Birch Miller supports oil and gas clients with advisory work and civil and administrative litigation.

The practice at Dentons supports clients across a range of labour and employment matters, including litigation and arbitration, wrongful dismissals, health and safety law, human resources issues, contracts, workplace investigations and training programs. While the firm fields offices located in six Canadian economic hubs, Toronto is the seat of national lead Andy Pushalik, who routinely assists clients with sensitive advisory human resources matters and labour and employment litigation. Additional key partners include Eleni Kassaris, who works from Vancouver; Montreal-based Christian Létourneau; and April Kosten (Calgary).

The expertise of the 22-strong group at DLA Piper (Canada) LLP spans mediation, arbitration, litigation and a number of advisory issuses. The team is well-equipped to manage the relationships between corporate clients and unions, in addition to handling severance and pension issues, wrongful dismissal claims, collective agreements, and sexual harassment and professional misconduct allegations. The practice is jointly led by Correna Jones, who works from Calgary and handles labour and employment, occupational health and safety and business law matters; and Michael Richards, who leads from Toronto. Key support comes from Calgary-based collective bargaining expert Michael Ford KC.

The labour and employment practice at Vancouver-headquartered Lawson Lundell LLP is noted for its handling of occupational health and safety matters, collective bargaining, wrongful dismissals, employment standards, employment equity and pension and benefits litigation. The group is frequently instructed by clients in the mining, retail, manufacturing, food and forestry segments. Practice head Robert Sider KC focuses on labour and employment aspects of commercial transactions, as well as litigation and arbitration; Nicole Skuggedal specializes in arbitration and contracts work. Deborah Cushing deals with a range of advisory labour matters, while Ryan Berger majors on litigation.

The ‘passionate, accurate, confident and experienced’ group at Gowling WLG is routinely retained by corporations in diverse sectors seeking assistance with labour and employment matters. The practice is jointly led by a trio of partners, comprising: the ‘very knowledgeable’ Toronto-based national lead Andrew Bratt; Maxwell Brunette, who splits his time between Calgary and Vancouver and focuses on labour relations matters and employment standards disputes; and Josée Gervais, who leads from the Montreal office and handles the gamut of employment law matters. Bettina Burgess is the key contact at the Kitchener office.

Areas of expertise for the Toronto-based team at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP include workplace investigations, compensation packages, terminations, privacy issues, sexual harassment claims, and wrongful dismissal and severance pay class actions. Since the departure of ex-practice head Adrian Jakibchuk from the group in October 2022, Laurie Jessome steers the department and leads on both contentious and non-contentious labour matters. Managing partner Kristin Taylor is an additional key contact.

The Toronto-based group at Torys offers advisory labour counsel on matters including hirings and dismissals, employment standards and occupational health and safety laws, employee benefits and executive compensation, in addition to representing clients in employment class actions. Lisa Talbot heads up the employment litigation practice and has significant expertise in workplace harassment matters. Partner Jennifer Lennon specializes in compensation arrangements for senior management teams, while counsel Darryl Hiscocks provides across-the-board labour support. Ex-practice head Mitch Frazer left the firm in March 2023.