Does the limitation period pause if an adult claimant becomes mentally incapable in Ontario?

Ontario's Limitations Act, 2002 recognizes that a claimant who is legally incapable of managing their own affairs may not be in a position to bring or even understand that they have a potential claim, and the Act generally provides for the limitation clock to be suspended, or not to run, while the claimant remains incapable and lacks a litigation guardian to act on their behalf. This reflects the same underlying fairness concern behind discoverability generally: it isn't reasonable to expect someone who genuinely can't manage their own legal affairs to have started a lawsuit within the ordinary time frame.

Once the person regains capacity, or a litigation guardian is appointed to act for them, the clock generally starts running again, though the exact mechanics depend on the specific circumstances, including how long the incapacity lasted and whether someone was already acting on the claimant's behalf during that period. Because incapacity and its timing can be genuinely disputed, especially where capacity fluctuates or is only partial, claims involving a claimant who was, or may have been, incapable for some portion of the relevant period benefit considerably from medical and other evidence documenting the nature and timing of the incapacity.