The provincial and territorial courts in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by total ...

are local trial "inferior" or "

lower Lower may refer to: * Lower (surname) * Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) * Lower Wick Gloucestershire, England See also * Nizhny {{Disambiguation ...

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...

s of limited jurisdiction established in each of the

provinces and territories of Canada Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British Nor ...

. These courts typically hear

criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

civil Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a membe ...

(or “

small claims Small-claims courts have limited jurisdiction to hear civil cases between private litigants. Courts authorized to try small claims may also have other judicial functions, and go by different names in different jurisdictions. For example, it may ...

”),

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...

, and

bylaw A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authorit ...

cases. Unlike the superior courts of Canada, the jurisdiction of the provincial courts is limited to those matters which are permitted by statute. They have no inherent jurisdiction. Appeals of provincial court decisions are usually heard by the superior court of the province. These courts typically evolved from older

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a ''magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judicia ...

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, or local courts. Many of these former courts were as likely to have lay magistrates or

justices of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission (letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

presiding as they were to have a

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility a ...

who had formal

legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

training. In the province of Ontario, most municipal and provincial offences are dealt with in the Provincial Offences Court, established under the ''Ontario Provincial Offences Act'' and the ''Courts of Justice Act''.

Provincial and territorial courts in Canada

* Provincial Court of Alberta * Provincial Court of British Columbia * Provincial Court of Manitoba * Provincial Court of New Brunswick * Provincial Court of Newfoundland and Labrador * Provincial Court of Nova Scotia * Territorial Court of the Northwest Territories * Nunavut Court of Justice *

Ontario Court of Justice The Ontario Court of Justice is the provincial court of record for the Canadian province of Ontario. The court sits at more than 200 locations across the province and oversees matters relating to family law, criminal law, and provincial offences. ...

* Provincial Court of Prince Edward Island *

Court of Quebec The Court of Quebec (french: Cour du Québec) is a court of first instance in the Province of Quebec, Canada. The court has jurisdiction over civil matters, criminal and penal matters as well as over youth matters The court sits in administra ...

* Provincial Court of Saskatchewan * Territorial Court of Yukon

References

Courts in Canada {{Canada-law-stub