The Centre for the Study of democratic Citizenships presents:

Judicial Legitimacy under Threat: Public Support for Canadian Courts in a Time of Institutional Division
Andrea Lawlor (Department of Political Science and the Public Policy (Digital Society), McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada)

Registration, here

When: Decembre  5 , 2025, 3/4:30 p.m.
Where: Université de Montréal, Pavillon Lionel-Groulx, Salle C-2059, 3150, rue Jean-Brillant, Montréal (Québec) H3C 3J7

Canadian courts have been thought to enjoy long-standing support from the public. As an unelected judiciary, this support is considered the bedrock of the courts’ legitimacy, and creates a strong incentive for legislative compliance with its decisions. However, widespread fears of increasing institutional mistrust raise concerns about whether trust in Canadian judiciary is also in decline and how Canadians see the courts’authority in light of increased pressure from political actors who view it as an impediment to ideologically-motivated political change. This study looks at three facets of Canadians’ trust in courts: broad support for the courts’ as institution, support for court curbing policies that restrict judicial authority, and perceptions of judicial legitimacy or the ability for courts to operate independent of the legislature in line with their constitutionally mandated role. Using a new two-wave panel survey, we explore observational and experimental findings to answer questions about the conditions under which support from the courts holds in the face of changing political and legal events.

The Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship is funded by the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC).