Creation of the Court The first Supreme Court of the North-West Territories was created by the federal Parliament in 1885 to replace the system of individual
stipendiary magistrates which had previously operated in the Territories. The former stipendiary magistrates were appointed as the first judges of the new Supreme Court.
Jurisdiction and powers The Court was a
superior court of civil and criminal jurisdiction. The jurisdiction of the Court was defined by reference to the jurisdiction of the English courts which existed as of July 15, 1870, the date the North-West Territories became part of Canada. The Court had all the powers "... used, exercised and enjoyed by any of Her Majesty’s superior courts of common law, or by the Court of Chancery, or by the Court of Probate in England" as of that date. The judges of the Court sat individually as trial judges. The full court sat
en banc to hear appeals. A further appeal lay to the
Supreme Court of Canada under
The Supreme Court Act. The judges of the Supreme Court were initially non-voting members of the Legislative Council of the North-West Territories, to provide legal advice to the Council. They ceased to have this function when the Legislative Council was converted to a fully elected Legislative Assembly. When the
Yukon was created as a separate territory from the North-West Territories in 1898, the Supreme Court continued its jurisdiction over the territory as prescribed by the
Yukon Act 1898.
Abolition of the Court In 1905, Parliament created two new provinces,
Alberta and
Saskatchewan, from the
southern portion of the North-West Territories. Parliament disestablished the Supreme Court in the Territories, and re-established a system of stipendiary magistrates for the North-West Territories However, as a transitional measure, the federal Acts establishing Alberta and Saskatchewan provided that the Court continued to dispense justice in the new provinces. The Supreme Court lasted for two more years, until the provincial Legislatures created the Supreme Court of Alberta and the Supreme Court of Saskatchewan in 1907. The provincial legislation creating these courts also abolished the Supreme Court of the North-West Territories. Half of the judges of the Supreme Court were appointed to the Supreme Court of Alberta, and the other judges were appointed to the Supreme Court of Saskatchewan.
Judges of the Court The judges of the Court were appointed by the Governor General, on the advice of the federal Cabinet. There were originally three justices of the Court, but by the time of the abolition of the Court, it had grown to six justices: the Chief Justice and five
puisne justices. •
Hugh Richardson (1887–1903) •
Edward Ludlow Wetmore (1887–1907) •
David Lynch Scott (1894–1907) •
Horace Harvey (1904–1907) •
James Macleod •
James Prendergast •
Charles Rouleau (February 18, 1888 – August 25, 1901), Northern Alberta Judicial District == Second Supreme Court (1955 to present) ==