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Canadian Bar Association Presidents

The President of the Canadian Bar Association is the head of a professional association of Canadian lawyers. The president is elected by those members of the CBA who hold leadership positions, nationally, provincially, and through the sections and conferences of the CBA. The president serves a one-year term.

The current President of the CBA (2015-16) is Janet Fuhrer, a lawyer from the Ottawa firm of Ridout & Maybee LLP.

History of the Position

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Since the creation of the Canadian Bar Association in 1914, there have been ## presidents.[1] Many of the presidents have been leaders of the Bar and have held major public office. The first President, Sir James Aikins, was simultaneously President and Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba for much of his time in office. Two future Prime Ministers, three Supreme Court justices, two Lieutenant Governors, several Attorneys General, and a Senator have served as President. Other presidents have worked primarily in private practice, from large firms, medium firms, or small firms, even a sole practitioner. Several of the presidents have gone on to appointments to the Bench and one has been Canada's Ambassador to the United Nations. Others have been active in community service: one has been the chair of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and another has been president of a CFL team. Many have been appointed to the Order of Canada and similar provincial honours. The breadth of experience of the presidents is shown In the column, "Other Position Held", in the table below, which indicates the background and experience of each president. In some cases, they held the position prior to becoming president, in other cases afterwards, and in some cases, such as Supreme Court Justice Davis, held that position concurrently with being president.

Although the first president, Sir James Aikins, served for thirteen years, and some other presidents served two-year terms, the term of the office is now one year, as part of a four year succession of offices. To serve as president, an individual must be elected Second Vice-President, and serve for one year in that office. The Second Vice-President is not elected by the entire membership of the Association, but by individuals who hold offices within the Association, including members of the national executive, members of the executives of the provincial branches, and chairs of national committees and sections. The election is held over the internet in the spring of each year. The winner of the election is installed in office at the annual meeting of the Association, which is held in August of each year.

Following a year as Second Vice-President, the individual serves the next year as First Vice-President. The third year after election, the individual becomes President. After the year in office as President, the individual serves a further year as Past-President of the Association. The succession to each office occurs at the annual meeting.

By custom, the presidency rotates through five regions: the prairie provinces, Ontario, the Atlantic provinces, Quebec, and British Columbia.

List of Canadian Bar Association Presidents

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No. Term Name Location Other Positions Held
1
1914-27 Sir James Aikins
1851 – 1929
Winnipeg Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
1916 - 1926
2
1927-28 John Edward Martin Montreal Justice of the Quebec Court of Appeal
1918-1922
3
1928-29 Wallace Nesbitt
1858 – 1930
Toronto Puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
1903 - 1905
4
1929-30 R.B. Bennett
1870 – 1947
Calgary Prime Minister of Canada
1930 - 1935
5
1930-32 Louis St-Laurent
1882 – 1973
Quebec Prime Minister of Canada
1948 - 1957
6
1932-34 Newton Rowell
1867 – 1941
Toronto President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada
1917 - 1920
Canadian delegate to the League of Nations
1920 - 1921
Chief Justice of Ontario
1936 - 1938
Rowell–Sirois Commission
1937 - 1938
7
1934-35 Isaac Pitblado
1867 – 1964
Winnipeg Private practice
8
1935-36 G.H. Montgomery Montreal Private practice: Montgomery, McMichael, Common & Howard
Chancellor of Bishop's University
1942-1950
9
1936-37 Henry Hague Davis
1885 – 1944
Ottawa Puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
1935 - 1944
10
1937-38 John Wallace de Beque Farris
1878 – 1970
Vancouver Attorney General of British Columbia and Minister of Labour
1917-1922
Senator
1937–1970
11
1938-39 Louis-Émery Beaulieu
1878 – 1962
Montreal Bâtonnier du Barreau du Québec
1932–1934
Dean of the Université de Montréal Faculty of Law
1945–1955
12
1939-41 D’Alton Lally McCarthy
1870 – 1963
Toronto Treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada
1939–1944
13
1941-42 James McGregor Stewart
1889 – 1955
Halifax Private practice
14
1942-43 Gordon Harold Aikins
1887 – 1954
Winnipeg Private Practice: Aikins, MacAulay & Thorvaldson
15
1943-44 Royal Maitland
1898 – 1946
Vancouver Attorney General of British Columbia
1941-1946
16
1944-45 François-Philippe Brais
1894 – 1972
Montreal Member of the Legislative Council of Quebec
1940-1968
Bâtonnier du Barreau du Québec
1949-1950
17
1945-46 Esten Kenneth Williams
1889 – 1970
Winnipeg President of the Law Society of Manitoba
1941 - 1943
Chief Justice of the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench
1946 - 1962
18
1946-47 James Chalmers McRuer
1890 – 1985
Toronto Justice of the Ontario Court of Appeal
1944-45
Chief Justice of the Ontario High Court
1945-1964
19
1947-48 John Thomas Hackett
1884 – 1956
Montreal Member of Parliament
1930–1935, 1945–1949
Senator
1955-1956
20
1948-49 Stanley Harwood McCuaig
1891 – 1986
Edmonton Private Practice: McCuaig Desrochers
21
1949-50 Arthur N. Carter Saint John Private Practice
22
1950-51 E. Gordon Gowling Ottawa Private Practice: Gowling and Henderson
23
1951-52 John Arthur Clark
1886 – 1976
Vancouver Canadian Army (Seaforth Highlanders)
1914-1919
Member of Parliament
1921–1930
24
1952-53 André Taschereau
1897 – 1979
Quebec Bâtonnier du Barreau du Québec
1943-44
Justice of the Quebec Court of Appeal
1955-1972
25
1953-54 John MacAulay
1895 – 1978
Winnipeg Private Practice: Aikins, MacAulay & Thorvaldson
Chairman of the International League of Red Cross and
Red Crescent Societies

1959-1965
26
1954-55 D. Park Jamieson
1903 – 1981
Sarnia, Ontario Private Practice: Pardee, Gurd, Fuller and Taylor
27
1955-56 Paul P. Hutchinson Montreal Private Practice
28
1956-57 E.C. Leslie Regina Private Practice: MacPherson Leslie & Tyerman
29
1957-58 Arthur Kelly
1901 – 1986
Toronto Justice of the Ontario Court of Appeal
1960-1975
30
1958-59 Walter Stewart Owen
1904 – 1981
Vancouver Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia
1973–1978
31
1959-60 Renault St. Laurent Quebec Private practice
32
1960-61 Donald McInnes Halifax Private practice
33
1961-62 Stanley E. Fennell Cornwall, Ontario Private practice
34
1962-63 R.A. MacKimmie Calgary Private practice
35
1963-64 Oscar L. Lundell Vancouver Private practice: Lawson, Lundell, Lawson & McIntosh
36
1964-65 Hazen Hansard
1905 – 1985
Montreal Private Practice: Montgomery, McMichael, Common & Howard;
Cate, Ogilvy, Bishop, Cope, Porteous & Hansard
37
1965-66 J.T. Weir Toronto Private Practice
38
1966-67 Perreault Casgrain
1898 – 1981
Rimouski, Quebec Private Practice
39
1967-68 A. Gordon Cooper Halifax President of the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society
1956-57
Justice of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, Appeal Division
40
1968-69 J.J. Saucier Calgary Private Practice: Chambers, Saucier, Jones, Peacock, Black, Gain & Stratton
41
1969-70 Arthur Sydney Pattillo Toronto Private Practice: Blake Cassels & Graydon
Chairman, Ontario Securities Commission
1974-1977
42
1970-71 A. Lorne Campbell
1920 – 2014
Winnipeg Private Practice: Aikins, MacAulay & Thorvaldson
President of the Law Society of Manitoba
1966 - 1967
43
1971-72 John Lauchlan Farris
d. 1986
Vancouver Private Practice: Farris, Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy
Chief Justice of British Columbia
1973-1978
44
1972-73 Louis-Philippe de Grandpré
1917 – 2008
Montreal Private Practice: Tansey, de Grandpré et de Grandpré
Puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
1974 - 1977
45
1973-74 Neil McKelvey
1925 – 2011
Saint John Private Practice: Stewart McKelvey
46
1974-75 William Lorne Northmore Somerville
1921 - 2009
Toronto Private Practice: Borden & Elliott
47
1975-76 Irwin Dorfman
1908 - 1993
Winnipeg Private Practice: Thompson Dorfman Sweatman
President of the Law Society of Manitoba
1971 - 1972
48
1976-77 A. Boyd Ferris
d. 1989
Vancouver Private Practice: Davis and Co.
49
1977-78 Jacques Viau
1919 - 2003
Montreal Private Practice
Bâtonnier du Barreau du Québec
1974-1975
50
1978-79 Thomas J. Walsh
1927 - 2016
Calgary Private Practice: Walsh LLP
51
1979-80 Gordon Henderson
1912 - 1993
Ottawa Private Practice: Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
52
1980-81 William Cox
1921 - 2008
Halifax President of the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society
1971-1972
President of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada
(1975-1976)
Private Practice: Cox Downie
53
1981-82 Paul D.K. Fraser
Vancouver British Columbia Conflict Commissioner
2008-present
President of Commonwealth Lawyers Association
President of International Commission of Jurists (Canadian Section)
Private Practice: Fraser Milner Casgrain
54
1982-83 Yves Fortier
born 1935
Montreal Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations
1988-1992
Permanent Court of Arbitration
1988-1992
President of London Court of International Arbitration
1998-2001
Private Practice: Ogilvy Renault
1961-2011
Cabinet Yves Fortier
2012 - present
55
1983-84 Robert H. McKercher
born 1930
Saskatoon Private Practice: McKercher LLP
56
1984-85 Claude R. Thomson
1933-2010
Toronto Private Practice: Fasken Martineau
ADR Chambers
57
1985-86 Robert Wells
born 1933
St. John's Crown Attorney, Provincial Department of Justice
Private Practice
Member of the Newfoundland House of Assembly and Minister of Health
Justice of the Trial Division of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland
58
1986-87 Bryan Williams Vancouver Private Practice: Swinton & Company
Justice of the British Columbia Court of Appeal
1995 - 1996
Chief Justice of the British Columbia Supreme Court
1996 - 2000
59
1987-88 Jean Bazin Montreal Private Practice: Byers Casgrain / Fraser Milner Casgrain / Dentons
Senate of Canada
1986 - 1989
60
1988-89 Patrick Peacock Calgary Private Practice: Peacock, Linder, Halt and Mack
1994 - present
President, Calgary Stampeders Football Club
1985 - 1986

Canadian Bar Association Presidents by Province or Territory

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No. Province or Territory Number of
Presidents
Names
1
Alberta
#
Bennett; MacKimmie; McCuaig; Peacock; Saucier; Walsh
2
British Columbia
#
Clark; Farris (John L.); Farris (John W. deB.); Ferris; Fraser; Lundell; Maitland; Owen; Williams
3
Manitoba
#
Aikins (Gordon Harold); Aikins (Sir James); Campbell; Dorfman; MacAulay; Pitblado; Williams
4
New Brunswick
#
Carter; McKelvey
5
Newfoundland & Labrador
#
Wells
6
Nova Scotia
#
Cooper; Cox; McInnes; Stewart
7
Ontario
#
Davis; Fennell; Gowling; Henderson; Jamieson; Kelly; McCarthy; McRuer; Nesbitt; Pattillo; Rowell; Somerville; Thomson; Weir
8
Prince Edward Island
#
9
Quebec
#
Bazin; Beaulieu; Brais; Casgrain; de Grandpré; Hackett; Fortier; Hansard; Hutchinson; Martin; Montgomery; St Laurent (Louis); St. Laurent (Renault); Taschereau; Viau
10
Saskatchewan
#
Leslie; McKercher
11
Northwest Territories
#
12
Nunavut
#
13
Yukon
#
14
Total:


References

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