What is a pre-trial conference in Ontario civil litigation and is it mandatory?

A pre-trial conference is a meeting between the parties, their lawyers, and a judge or senior court official before a trial takes place in Ontario civil matters. Under the Rules of Civil Procedure, pre-trial conferences are mandatory in most Superior Court of Justice proceedings. In Small Claims Court, a settlement conference serves a similar purpose.

The pre-trial conference has two main goals. First, the conference judge reviews the case and identifies the issues that will actually go to trial, helping to narrow and simplify what needs to be decided. Second, and equally important, the judge actively encourages the parties to settle. The presiding judge will often give candid assessments of the strengths and weaknesses of each side's case, which can be a powerful prompt to reach agreement.

Parties are expected to come prepared with a pre-trial conference memorandum outlining their position, key evidence, and settlement history. The judge presiding over the pre-trial conference typically does not preside at the trial itself, which allows them to speak frankly about the case.

Many Ontario civil disputes settle at or after the pre-trial conference. Even cases that appeared intractable often resolve once a judge gives both sides an honest view of how the evidence looks and what the likely outcome would be at trial.