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ARTICLE · 10 NOVEMBER 2026

What Ontario Courts Now Require To Seek Leave To Appeal

Torkin Manes LLP
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The Ontario Court of Appeal has introduced a new framework for evaluating leave to appeal applications from Divisional Court orders, replacing the decades-old Sault Dock methodology. The Knauff decision establishes a two-pillar approach centered on arguability and public importance, fundamentally reshaping how parties must present their cases when seeking permission to appeal.

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Marco P. Falco
Marco P. Falco
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In Ontario, parties have no inherent right to appeal a decision.

In the civil context, the Courts of Justice Act (the “CJA”)1prescribes the circumstances in which parties may appeal orders to a higher Court.

In certain circumstances, the Legislature has gone one step further, limiting the right to bring an appeal without the prior permission or “leave” of the appellate Court.

Under section 6(1)(a) of the CJA, parties may only appeal an order of the Divisional Court to the Court of Appeal with leave, and only on questions of law or mixed fact and law.2

In its 1973 decision in Re Sault Dock Co. Ltd. and City of Sault Ste. Marie,3 the Court of Appeal set out a number of factors it considers relevant when deciding whether to grant leave to appeal an order of the Divisional Court.

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