The SCC Clarifies a Heightened Threshold Requirement for Mandatory Injunctions in R v Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

The first stage of the classic tripartite test for granting an interlocutory injunction, originating from RJR MacDonald v Canada (Attorney General),¹ requires the plaintiff to demonstrate a "serious question to be tried." Canadian courts have been divided on the issue of whether there should be a heightened threshold at the first stage of the RJR-MacDonald test where a mandatory interlocutory injunction is being sought. In R v Canadian Broadcasting Corporation,² the Supreme Court clarified that there is a heightened threshold at the first stage of the RJR-MacDonald test in that the plaintiff must establish a "strong prima facie case" in order to be granted a mandatory injunction.