Top court will hear appeal on ruling that found feds violated Charter during convoy protest
The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear the federal government's appeal regarding the use of the Emergencies Act during the 2022 convoy protests. Lower courts previously ruled that the government's invocation of the act was unreasonable and violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Why it matters
This case will set a critical legal precedent regarding the threshold for government power and civil liberties during national emergencies.
The federal government appealed that decision to the Federal Court of Appeal, which in January 2026 agreed with the the lower court's decision.
In agreeing, the Federal Court of Appeal said Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley was correct when he ruled in 2024 that the Liberal cabinet at the time did not have reasonable grounds to believe that the convoy protest posed a threat to national security, and therefore the decision to invoke the act fell short of the legal threshold required.
"As disturbing and disruptive the blockades and the convoy protests in Ottawa could be, they fell well short of a threat to national security," wrote the three judges on the Federal Court of Appeal.
The federal government sought leave to appeal the case to the Supreme Court, which said Thursday that it will hear the case.
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