Canada Names New Judge in Alberta
The Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointment under the judicial application process established in 2016. This process emphasizes transparency, merit, and the diversity of the Canadian population, and will continue to ensure the appointment of jurists who meet the highest standards of excellence and integrity.
Caroline H.C. Magnan, Director, French Common Law Program, at the University of Ottawa, and Counsel at Juristes Power Law in Ottawa, is appointed a Justice of the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta in Calgary. Justice Magnan fills the remaining position authorized under Bill C-74 (2018) in Calgary.
“I wish Justice Magnan every success as she takes on her new role. I am confident she will serve Albertans well as a member of the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta.”
-The Hon. Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Justice Caroline H.C. Magnan spent her childhood in Edmonton and Regina. She earned a B.A. from McGill University (2003) and an LL.B. from the University of Ottawa’s French Common Law Program (2006), where she received the Yvon Blais Prize for the best cumulative GPA and the Silver Medal for the common law section. A Fulbright Scholar and recipient of the Baxter & Alma Ricard Scholarship, she completed her LL.M. at Harvard Law School. She was called to the Alberta Bar in 2009.
Justice Magnan is fluent in French and English. She clerked for the Honourable Justice Michel Bastarache at the Supreme Court of Canada. She began her career in tax law in Calgary before serving as legal counsel at the Court of Appeal of Alberta. In 2015, she joined the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law as Assistant Professor then Director of the Certification de common law en français program, which offers students from several Canadian law faculties the opportunity to take common law courses in French. Her teaching and scholarship focused on language rights, education law, and appellate advocacy. She also served as counsel at Juristes Power, where she worked on appellate litigation in complex constitutional and language rights matters, including several cases before the Supreme Court of Canada.
Justice Magnan is actively involved in her community. She has served on the boards of the Fondation franco-albertaine, Pathways International, Jurisource.ca, the Association canadienne-française de l’Alberta, and the Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne-française.
Justice Magnan and her husband Pierre are the proud parents of Gabrielle and Roméo.
https://www.canada.ca/en/department-justice/news/2025/03/minister-of-justice-and-attorney-general-of-canada-announces-a-judicial-appointment-in-the-province-of-alberta.html