Can I enforce a costs award separately from the main judgment amount in Ontario?

Yes — a costs award is generally enforceable in the same way as any other judgment amount, and a creditor doesn't have to treat it as a lesser or secondary part of the overall order. Once a costs award is fixed, whether as part of the main judgment or arising from a separate motion along the way, it can generally be pursued using the same enforcement tools available for the underlying debt itself, including a writ of seizure and sale, garnishment, or an examination of the debtor about their assets.

This matters practically in situations where a debtor pays the main judgment amount but not the costs that were also ordered, or where costs from an earlier motion in the case were never actually collected even though the case has since concluded. A creditor doesn't need to let unpaid costs simply be forgotten just because the larger judgment has been dealt with; costs remain a distinct, collectible amount in their own right. Keeping track of every costs order made throughout a case, not just the final judgment figure, helps ensure nothing owed gets overlooked once enforcement begins.