Who gets the interest earned on money held in escrow during an Ontario gap closing?

In Ontario, interest earned on money sitting in a standard, pooled lawyer's trust account generally does not belong to the individual client; it is directed instead to a public fund that supports legal aid and other law-related programs, as part of how lawyer trust accounts are regulated. This is the default position unless the parties specifically arrange otherwise for a particular transaction.

If a gap closing is expected to hold significant funds for more than a very short period, the parties can arrange for that money to sit in a separate, client-specific interest-bearing trust account instead of the standard pooled account, in which case the interest earned would generally belong to whichever party the escrow agreement designates, often the party ultimately entitled to the funds. Because this depends on how the escrow or gap closing agreement is actually structured, it is worth asking your lawyer, before the gap begins, whether a separate account is being used and, if not, whether it should be for your specific situation.