Your appeal / Canada
Appeals in Canada
Deadlines are set province by province, the Criminal Code sets the grounds, and a federal review exists after appeals end.
Your deadline depends on your province
There is no single Canadian deadline. Each province and territory has its own rules, and the time usually runs from sentencing, not the verdict. Check the page for your province, and check the rule itself. Do not assume 30 days.
- British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Newfoundland and Labrador: 30 days from sentence.
- Alberta and Nunavut: one month from the date of decision, which is the later of the decision and sentencing in Alberta.
- Nova Scotia: 25 days from sentence, leaving out weekends and certain days the office is closed.
- New Brunswick: the court's guide gives 30 days.
- Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Yukon and Northwest Territories: we could not confirm the current rule. Call the court registry today.
- Criminal Code, s 678
- Court of Appeal Rules, listed on each jurisdiction page
If you are in custody
Alberta lets a self-represented person in custody start an appeal by filing with a senior officer of the institution, within the same time. Manitoba Legal Aid warns that the clock keeps running while your legal aid application is processed, and suggests filing a Prisoner's Own Appeal. That warning is worth taking to heart everywhere: protect the deadline first and sort out funding second.
What you can appeal
After a conviction on an indictable offence, you can appeal as of right on a question of law alone. On a question of fact, or of mixed fact and law, you need leave from the court of appeal or a judge, or a certificate from the trial judge. A sentence appeal needs leave.
Summary conviction matters go first to the appeal court under Part XXVII. A further appeal to the court of appeal needs leave and is on a question of law alone.
What the court looks for
A court of appeal may allow an appeal if the verdict is unreasonable or cannot be supported by the evidence, if there was a wrong decision on a question of law, or if on any ground there was a miscarriage of justice.
It can still dismiss the appeal if no substantial wrong or miscarriage of justice occurred. If it allows the appeal, it must quash the conviction and either direct an acquittal or order a new trial.
An appeal court cannot declare someone factually innocent. In Mullins-Johnson, the Ontario Court of Appeal explained why that is not part of its role.
If the deadline has passed
The court of appeal or a judge may extend the time at any time. Your court has its own form and procedure: in British Columbia it is Form 7, and Alberta's guide says the extension application is brought after the notice of appeal is filed. Courts decide these requests case by case, so explain the delay honestly and apply as soon as you can.
Fresh evidence
A court of appeal may receive evidence where it considers that to be in the interests of justice. The leading case is Palmer v. The Queen. In Truscott, the Ontario Court of Appeal organised the inquiry into three parts: whether the evidence is admissible, whether it is cogent, meaning relevant, credible and probative, and what explains why it was not called at trial.
If your lawyer let you down
You must show two things: that your lawyer's acts or omissions were incompetent, and that a miscarriage of justice resulted. The court starts from a strong presumption that counsel acted reasonably, the burden is on you, and hindsight plays no part.
The Supreme Court of Canada
You can appeal as of right on a question of law on which a court of appeal judge dissented. Otherwise you need leave, which depends on public importance. You have 60 days to apply for leave. July does not count. The Court can extend the time in special circumstances. Most leave refusals come with no reasons.
After every appeal: ministerial review
If your rights of appeal are exhausted, you can ask the federal Minister of Justice to review your conviction. The Minister may act if satisfied that there is a reasonable basis to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred. The Minister can order a new trial or hearing, or refer the case to the court of appeal. The review looks for new matters of significance. It is not another appeal, and the Minister's decision is final.
The new Commission is not open yet
Parliament passed David and Joyce Milgaard's Law in 2024 to create the Miscarriage of Justice Review Commission. As of October 30, 2026, we found no sign that it is taking applications. The provisions that would let it receive them were not yet in force, and Justice Canada says its Criminal Conviction Review Group keeps handling applications until the Commission operates. Do not wait for the Commission if you are ready to apply.
When it opens, the law will change in important ways. The test will fall to reasonable grounds to conclude that a miscarriage of justice may have occurred. Innocence will not need to be shown. Guilty pleas and young persons will be covered, and it will be able to accept some cases that were never appealed. People with a pending application will be asked to consent to transfer. Read that notice carefully, because an application can be treated as never made if you do not consent and the preliminary assessment was unfinished.
Paying for it
Apply to legal aid in your province or territory. If you do not get it, section 684 lets a court of appeal or a judge assign you a lawyer where that is desirable in the interests of justice and you lack sufficient means. If legal aid is not granted, the Attorney General pays. The Supreme Court has an equivalent power in section 694.1.
Plans differ. Legal Aid Alberta, for example, decides merit on every appeal file, informed by trial counsel's opinion.
Bail pending appeal
After filing a notice of appeal against conviction, you may ask a judge for release. You must show that the appeal is not frivolous, that you will surrender, and that detention is not necessary in the public interest. A sentence-only appeal has a harder test and needs leave first.
General information only, not legal advice. Do not rely on this page for a deadline in your case.