What is the defence of voluntary assumption of risk in an Ontario negligence claim?

Voluntary assumption of risk, sometimes called volenti, is a defence where the defendant argues that you did not just know about a risk and proceed anyway, but actually agreed to give up your legal right to sue if that risk materialized. This is a genuinely high bar, and Ontario courts apply it cautiously, because a successful volenti defence eliminates the claim entirely rather than simply reducing the damages awarded, which is a much harsher outcome for the plaintiff than most other defences produce.

Merely knowing about a danger and choosing to proceed - taking a shortcut across an obviously icy path, for instance - is usually treated as relevant to contributory negligence, which reduces your damages by a percentage, rather than as volenti, which would bar the claim outright. The Occupiers' Liability Act separately recognizes that an occupier's duty does not extend to risks a visitor has willingly assumed, though this still does not protect an occupier who deliberately creates a danger. Because true volenti is rare and consequential, a defendant raising it usually needs clear evidence that you genuinely understood and accepted the specific legal risk involved, not just the general danger.