Can I make the other side pay the cost of hiring a lawyer to write my demand letter in Ontario?

Recovering the cost of a demand letter depends on whether your dispute ends up in court and whether the court includes that expense in its costs award. In Ontario, courts have discretion to award costs to a successful party, and those costs can sometimes include reasonable amounts paid to a lawyer for pre-litigation steps, including drafting a demand letter.

However, recovery is not automatic. In Small Claims Court, costs are capped at a modest percentage of the claim amount. In Superior Court proceedings, partial indemnity costs are the norm, meaning the winner recovers a portion — often less than half — of actual legal fees. The court decides what was reasonably necessary.

The strongest argument for recovering demand-letter costs is when the other side's conduct was unreasonable — for example, when they ignored a clear, legitimate demand and forced you into proceedings that could have been avoided. Courts may award more costs in those circumstances.

In practice, the cost of a single demand letter is modest relative to full litigation costs. Even if you cannot fully recover it, the expense is often worthwhile because the letter may resolve the dispute entirely. A lawyer can give you a realistic expectation of cost recovery based on the specifics of your claim.