When does the limitation period start for a loan that is repayable on demand in Ontario?

For a loan that's repayable on demand, meaning the lender can ask for repayment at any time rather than on a fixed schedule, Ontario's limitation analysis under the Limitations Act, 2002 generally treats the claim as discovered, and the clock as starting, once a demand for repayment is made and not honoured, rather than from the original date the loan was advanced. This reflects the practical reality that a demand loan isn't actually breached until repayment is demanded and refused or ignored; before that point, there's simply no outstanding failure to sue over.

This means a lender who never makes a formal demand can, in principle, leave the limitation clock from actually starting for a considerable time after the loan was made, though courts have sometimes scrutinized situations where a demand appears to have been deliberately delayed specifically to extend the limitation period unfairly. Because the timing and manner of a demand can matter considerably to when the clock starts, and because informal or undocumented loans between family members or business associates are a common source of dispute here, keeping clear, dated records of when any demand for repayment was actually made is important for both lenders and borrowers.