Enforcing a Foreign Judgment in Ontario: What's Required to Collect

You sued and won in another country, but the person or company that owes you money has assets sitting in Ontario. A foreign judgment on its own does not let you walk into an Ontario bank and seize funds — you first need Ontario's courts to recognize it. The good news is that Ontario law has long-established, workable routes for doing exactly that, though the process is not automatic.

This article explains, in general terms, how a foreign judgment can become enforceable against assets in Ontario.

Why You Cannot Just "Use" a Foreign Judgment Directly

A judgment is an order of a specific court, backed by that court's own enforcement authority. A judgment from a court outside Canada has no automatic legal force in Ontario — Ontario's sheriffs, banks, and enforcement processes do not act on a foreign court's order by itself. What a creditor generally needs is for an Ontario court to recognize the foreign judgment, after which it can be enforced here much like a judgment obtained locally.

The General Approach: Recognition Through Ontario Courts

Ontario courts have long applied general principles allowing recognition of judgments from other countries, based on considerations such as:

• Whether the foreign court had a proper basis to hear the case — for example, a real and substantial connection between the dispute or the defendant and that foreign jurisdiction, rather than a court asserting jurisdiction with no genuine link to the parties or events.
• Whether the judgment is final and for a fixed, identifiable sum of money. Judgments that are not yet final, or that order something other than payment of money (like an ongoing injunction from another country), are typically harder or impossible to enforce this way.
• Whether recognizing the judgment would offend Ontario public policy. An Ontario court can decline to recognize a foreign judgment in narrow circumstances — for example, if it was obtained through fraud, if the underlying proceeding was fundamentally unfair, or if enforcing it would run contrary to core Ontario public policy.
• Whether the judgment is for taxes, fines, or other penalties owed to a foreign government. These categories of foreign orders are generally treated differently and are often not enforceable through the same civil process.

Some countries and jurisdictions have specific reciprocal arrangements or statutory frameworks with Canadian provinces that can streamline recognition; others do not, in which case a creditor typically relies on a general common-law action to enforce the judgment. Which route applies depends on where the original judgment came from, and this is a detail worth confirming with a lawyer rather than assuming.

What the Process Generally Looks Like

1. Gather the foreign judgment and supporting court records. You will need a certified or properly authenticated copy of the judgment, along with documentation showing it is final.
2. Assess the jurisdictional and fairness requirements. Before investing in the process, it is worth evaluating whether the foreign proceeding is likely to satisfy Ontario's recognition principles — a judgment obtained without proper notice to the defendant, for instance, faces real risk of being refused recognition.
3. Start a proceeding in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Depending on the circumstances and the originating jurisdiction, this may take the form of an action or an application seeking recognition and enforcement of the foreign judgment.
4. Address any defences the debtor raises. A debtor can contest recognition on the grounds above — lack of proper jurisdiction in the original court, fraud, unfairness in the original proceeding, or public policy — so the process is not always a formality, especially where the debtor is well-resourced.
5. Obtain an Ontario order recognizing (or converting) the judgment. Once recognized, the amount owed generally becomes enforceable in Ontario using the same tools available for any other local judgment.
6. Proceed with standard Ontario enforcement. Garnishment, a writ of seizure and sale, and examination of the debtor about their assets all become available once the judgment is recognized here.

Common Complications

• Currency conversion. A foreign judgment is often expressed in another currency, which needs to be addressed as part of the recognition and enforcement process.
• Language and authentication. Foreign court documents not in English or French, or lacking proper certification, may need translation and authentication before an Ontario court will accept them.
• Disputes over the original proceeding's fairness. If the debtor was not properly served or given a genuine opportunity to defend in the original country, this can become a significant obstacle to recognition.
• Time and cost. Cross-border recognition proceedings generally take longer and involve more moving parts than pursuing a straightforward Ontario debt claim from the start.

Frequently asked questions