Michelle O’Bonsawin

Michelle O’Bonsawin, justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, lawyer, law professor (born in 1974 in Hanmer, Ontario). Michelle O’Bonsawin was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada on 1 September 2022, making her the first Indigenous justice to serve on the Court. An Abenaki member of the Odanak First Nation, O’Bonsawin is also Franco-Ontarian. She is known for her expertise on matters relating to Indigenous law and legal issues — in particular the Gladue principles — as well as labour, mental health and privacy issues.

Early Life

Michelle O’Bonsawin grew up in the small, mostly Francophone village of Hanmer, just outside Sudbury, Ontario. She is fluently bilingual. She wanted to work in the legal profession from an early age and describes herself as coming from a working-class family. O’Bonsawin’s father was a machinist at the mining company Inco. Her mother was a school teacher.

During her youth, O’Bonsawin worked in what could be described as “extremely Canadian jobs.” These included working as a tour guide at Sudbury’s Big Nickel and working for her aunt in a chip truck.

Education

O’Bonsawin earned her Bachelor of Arts from Laurentian University, her Bachelor of Laws from the University of Ottawa and her Master of Laws from York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School. She also earned a Doctorate in Law from the University of Ottawa. She wrote her master’s thesis on mental health policies (Treatment Orders in the Mental Health Context – Do They Really Work?) and her doctoral thesis on the Gladue principles (A Principled Approach: Mandatory Application of the Gladue Principles at Review Board Hearings).

Career Highlights

Michelle O’Bonsawin has been a member of the Canadian Bar Association and the Ontario Bar Association since 2000. She had a long legal career in the public sector, beginning with the legal services section of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). She then worked as a counsel for Canada Post for nine years. She also spent eight years as general counsel for the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group, where she was also responsible for their Indigenous relations program. During this time, O’Bonsawin practiced and developed an expertise in privacy, employment, human rights, mental health and labour law. She also taught a course in French on Indigenous people and the law at the University of Ottawa.

O’Bonsawin started her PhD at the University of Ottawa in 2016. In 2017, she became the first Indigenous person to be appointed to the Ontario Superior Court. During this period, she took a brief leave from her PhD program to apply for the position of Supreme Court justice. She contacted former Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin to get advice on whether she should complete her PhD or serve on the Supreme Court. McLachlin encouraged her to do both. O’Bonsawin successfully defended her thesis and completed her PhD in 2021.

O’Bonsawin was nominated to the Court by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on 19 August 2022. She was appointed by Mary Simon, the first Indigenous person to hold the office of governor general, on 1 September 2022.

O’Bonsawin has named Beverley McLachlin and Saskatchewan Court of Appeal judge Georgina Jackson as trailblazers and inspirations. She also cites Ontario justice Charles Hackland as a positive influence and role model. O’Bonsawin has cited the R v. Gladue (1999) and Delgamuukw v. British Columbia (1997) cases as good examples of important legal cases in Canadian judicial history that helped cement the power of the Supreme Court. They are also two of the more significant cases relating to Indigenous rights and justice in recent memory.

Other Activities

Outside of her career as a lawyer, professor and jurist, Michelle O’Bonsawin has also held leadership positions with various organizations. These include serving on the University of Ottawa’s board of governors and executive committee and on the board of the University of Ottawa Legal Aid Clinic’s Aboriginal Legal Services. She has also served as a board member of the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice and sat as an observer member of the Membership Committee of Odanak First Nation.

Honours

Canada Post Corporation recognized O’Bonsawin as a leading businesswoman on International Women’s Day in 2008. In 2013, Lexpert magazine included O’Bonsawin on their list of “leading lawyers under 40.” In 2017, she was nominated for the Laura Legge Award, which is presented by the Law Society of Ontario and recognizes women lawyers who have epitomized leadership. In 2019, O’Bonsawin was admitted into the University of Ottawa’s Common Law Honour Society.