How do I serve a lawsuit on someone who lives outside Ontario?

Ontario's civil procedure rules recognize certain categories of claims connected closely enough to Ontario — such as those involving a contract made or performed here, a wrong committed here, or property located in the province — where a plaintiff can generally serve a defendant elsewhere in Canada or abroad without first getting the court's permission. Outside those recognized categories, a plaintiff generally needs to bring a motion asking a judge for leave to serve the defendant outside Ontario, explaining the connection between the claim and Ontario and why it's appropriate for an Ontario court to hear the case at all.

Once service is permitted, the practical method still has to follow whatever rules apply in the place where the defendant is located — some countries require service through a formal treaty process, others allow more direct methods. A defendant served outside Ontario also generally gets more time to respond than one served within the province, reflecting the practical difficulty of receiving and responding to Canadian legal documents from a distance. Given how the rules for permission and method vary by jurisdiction, it's worth confirming the specific requirements for the defendant's actual location before attempting service, rather than assuming Ontario's local rules apply unchanged.