Chief Justice Richard Wagner speaks at the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa on Oct. 6, 2025. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick
Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Wagner has denied a request to recuse himself from the Emergencies Act case, after a group suggested he should do so because of previous comments critical of the Freedom Convoy protest.
Supreme Court of Canada registrar Chantal Carbonneau said in an April 29 letter first obtained by The National Post that Wagner sees no legal basis to recuse himself from the case, which the court is weighing whether to hear.
“In this respect, Chief Justice Wagner has advised that he did not, at any time, either directly or indirectly, comment on the Emergencies Act, RSC 1985, c 22 (4th Supp) or matters at issue in the proceedings,” Carbonneau wrote.
The Canadian government had filed an application with the Supreme Court in March to appeal a January decision by the Federal Court of Appeal. That court had rejected Ottawa’s appeal of a 2024 lower court decision, finding that it “correctly” determined that the Emergencies Act was unreasonably invoked.
