Go West, Young Lawyer: British Columbia Is Canada's Class Action Capital

B.C.'s no-costs regime and flexible funding drive a surge in high-stakes class actions

This article's title is adapted from a phrase ("Go West, Young Man") coined by news publishers in the 1850s. It captured the imaginations of clerks, mechanics, and soldiers returning from the U.S. Civil War, many of whom moved west to take up a homestead.

As provincial class action regimes diverge, where might a young lawyer who is intent on building a career in class actions, choose to go? Has B.C. emerged as the premier common law province for energetic and entrepreneurial counsel to bring complex, high-stakes class proceedings?

B.C.'s landscape is distinguished by a no-costs regime, a permissive approach to litigation funding agreements (LFAs) and procedural flexibility. Together these features lower barriers to accessing justice.