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The Canadian legal profession gathered at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, for the seventh annual Canadian Law Awards – a night dedicated to the firms, in-house teams, deals, and individuals shaping the future of law in Canada.
Presented by Canadian Lawyer and Lexpert, the gala recognized excellence across 26 categories, spanning landmark transactions, complex disputes, pro bono commitment, and the leaders redefining what legal work looks like.
The evening was hosted by Farah Nasser, the award-winning journalist and former national news anchor, with live entertainment from Soulfire – a five-piece band whose set ran from classic rock and Motown to Top 40.
Canadian Lawyer and Lexpert extend sincere thanks to this year’s sponsors: Silver Awards Sponsors Lawson Lundell LLP and Singleton Reynolds; Social Media Sponsor Norton Rose Fulbright; Official Jewellery Partner Dean Davidson; Official Ballot Accountants PwC; Experience Sponsor Rent the Couture; and Accommodation Partner InterContinental Toronto Centre.
Among the night’s most significant honours was the Infrastructure & Projects Deal of the Year, awarded to Trillium Health Partners’ $13.9 billion hospital redevelopment in Mississauga, Ontario – one of the largest infrastructure transactions in Canadian history, and widely recognized as the first project in Canada to use a formal progressive design-build-finance-maintain delivery model.
For Nicole Vaz, Trillium’s senior vice president, general counsel, and chief compliance and privacy officer, the project carried meaning beyond its scale. “This build is intended to represent a transformative era of delivery of care to the community through technology, through innovation, and through patient design and care,” she said.
The M&A Deal of the Year went to Strathcona Resources’ hostile takeover bid and Cenovus Energy’s acquisition of MEG Energy – a six-month transaction that helped make Cenovus one of Canada’s largest oil and gas producers. For Brett Anderson, McCarthy Tétrault’s regional managing partner for Alberta, the result came down to a shared effort. “I think these types of large deals require a ton of collaboration. And we work as a team,” he said.
That theme echoed across the evening. Michael Rosenberg, a partner at McCarthy Tétrault and vice chair of the firm’s national class actions group, took home Litigator of the Year for work advancing First Nations claims for basic infrastructure and services. “At the end of the day, what happens in a courtroom is only consequential if it builds houses, delivers safe drinking water, reforms child welfare – all those big nation-building projects,” he said.
Innovation was equally on display. CPP Investments earned two awards – Law Department Innovation and Banking & Financial Services Law Department of the Year – the former for an AI governance and validation model that lets the organization test, improve, and scale its internal AI workflows. Managing director Marc Flynn credited an early structural decision to pair risk and governance with enablement. “This allows the organization to adopt more AI capabilities because we can trust them,” he said.
The gala also celebrated career achievement. Melissa Kennedy, executive vice president and chief legal and public policy officer at Sun Life, received the Lifetime Achievement in the Legal Profession – In-House award, offering direct advice for lawyers starting out: “Work hard and don’t be afraid to take risks.”
This year’s winners were chosen by a panel of 55 of the country’s most respected legal leaders, drawn from leading law firms and in-house departments across Canada. Each judge reviewed submissions against rigorous standards, and their commitment to fairness, professionalism, and industry excellence is what gives the Canadian Law Awards their prestige. The full 2026 judging panel appears at the end of this guide.
From multibillion-dollar deals to nation-building litigation and responsible AI adoption, the 2026 Canadian Law Awards underscored a profession defined by collaboration, purpose, and a willingness to lead. Congratulations to all of this year’s winners and finalists, whose achievements continue to raise the bar for legal excellence across the country.
View the full photo gallery here.
Stage 1 – Nominations
The opportunity to make a mark began with nominations, where firms, teams and individuals put forward work they were proud of, aligned to the category criteria.
The legal profession was invited to submit nominations online by addressing the specific category criteria in a clear and concise manner. Nominations were submitted via the Nominate page of the Canadian Law Awards website.
Nominations were open from November 17, 2025 to January 30, 2026 at 11:59 pm ET.
Firms were required to nominate Deals through the Canadian Law Awards online nominations portal in order to be considered.
Entries were submitted with confidence and positioned for success.
Stage 2 – Research
Submissions were assessed against the national landscape to identify the most outstanding achievements.
The Canadian Law Awards team conducted extensive research and drew on industry knowledge, as well as insights from Lexpert, Canadian Lawyer and InHouse, to identify the firms, teams, individuals, deals and cases that demonstrated excellence in each category.
Those selected received an Excellence Award, with the results announced across Key Media's publications and platforms.
The process was rigorous, independent and designed to recognize genuine excellence.
Stage 3 – Excellence Awardees (Finalists)
Momentum continued to build as Excellence Awardees received national recognition.
Once selected, Excellence Awardees were notified by email or phone.
Excellence Awardees were officially announced in March and April 2026 on the Canadian Law Awards website and promoted through Lexpert, Canadian Lawyer and supporting media channels.
Promotional packages were made available to help finalists leverage their achievement across marketing and communications activities.
The shortlisting process provided an opportunity to amplify success stories to clients, colleagues and the broader market.
Stage 4 – Judging
Excellence Awardees progressed to an independent judging process.
The Canadian Law Awards team provided submissions to an independent panel of judges and instructed all judges not to share any information with third parties. Unless otherwise instructed or marked as confidential, information contained in submissions could be used in Key Media publications.
The judging panel independently assessed and scored each submission against the criteria of the relevant category.
The process was guided by clear criteria, independent review and a commitment to fairness.
Stage 5 – Winners
The final stage recognised the highest-achieving submissions across the legal profession.
Judges' scores were aggregated to determine a Winner in each category.
Winners were announced and celebrated at the Canadian Law Awards gala on May 5, 2026 and published on the Canadian Law Awards website.
They were also featured in extensive profile-raising media coverage, including an exclusive Lexpert digital feature dedicated to the Canadian Law Awards.
Recognition extended beyond the awards ceremony, helping winners elevate their profile and showcase their achievements across the industry.
