Enforcing a Judgment in Ontario: Garnishment and Beyond

Winning a lawsuit feels like the finish line — but for many creditors, it is really the starting line. A court order saying someone owes you money does not automatically put that money in your account. Enforcing a judgment in Ontario requires a separate, often multi-step process to actually collect.

This guide explains the main tools Ontario law gives judgment creditors — garnishment, writs of seizure and sale, and examinations in aid of execution — and what you need to know about how long a judgment stays alive.

Why Winning Is Not the Same as Collecting

A judgment is a court's declaration that a debt is owed. The court does not do the collecting for you. The judgment debtor (the person who owes you money) may refuse to pay voluntarily, claim they have nothing, or simply ignore the order.

Your job as a judgment creditor is to locate the debtor's assets and use the legal tools available to seize or redirect those assets to satisfy the judgment. The Rules of Civil Procedure and related legislation — including the Creditors' Relief Act and the Execution Act — govern how this works in Ontario.

Step One: Find Out What the Debtor Owns

Before you can seize anything, you need to know where to look. Ontario provides a powerful tool for this:

Examination in Aid of Execution

Once you hold a judgment, you can bring the debtor (or a representative of a corporate debtor) before a court officer or judge to answer questions under oath about their assets, income, and liabilities. This is called an examination in aid of execution (also called a judgment debtor examination).

At the examination, you can ask about:

• bank accounts and financial institutions used
• employment, salary, and other sources of income
• real estate, vehicles, and other property
• debts others owe to the debtor
• recent transfers of assets (which may be challenged if made to avoid creditors)

The debtor must attend and answer truthfully. Failure to attend or co-operate can result in contempt proceedings. The information gathered at the examination directly informs which enforcement tools to use next.

Garnishment

Garnishment is one of the most common and effective enforcement tools. It allows you to intercept money that a third party (the "garnishee") owes to the judgment debtor — before it ever reaches the debtor.

Common garnishment targets include:

• The debtor's employer — a portion of wages is redirected to you. Ontario law limits how much of a debtor's wages can be garnished at any one time to protect a minimum amount for living expenses (verify current amounts with a lawyer, as limits can change).
• The debtor's bank — funds on deposit can be garnished, subject to certain exemptions.
• Clients of the debtor — if someone owes the debtor money for services rendered, you may garnish that receivable.

The process involves filing a Notice of Garnishment with the court and serving it on the garnishee. The garnishee then pays the amount owed (up to the judgment balance) into court, and the funds are released to you. Garnishment is not a one-time fix — if a bank account is empty on the day of service, you may need to serve repeated notices.

Writ of Seizure and Sale

A writ of seizure and sale (also called a "writ of execution") is a court document you file with the Sheriff's office in the county or district where the debtor owns property. Once filed, it creates a lien on the debtor's real property and authorizes the Sheriff to seize and sell the debtor's personal property (such as vehicles, equipment, or inventory) to satisfy the judgment.

Key points:

• Real property. The writ is registered against the debtor's land. If they sell or refinance their property, they generally cannot complete the transaction without paying off the judgment. This makes a writ a powerful tool even when you are not actively pursuing seizure — it creates pressure.
• Personal property. The Sheriff can seize personal property that is not exempt under the Execution Act. Certain essentials (basic household furnishings, tools of the trade up to a set value, etc.) are protected from seizure. Verify current exemption amounts with a lawyer.
• Sheriff's sale. If seizure occurs, the Sheriff conducts a sale and remits the proceeds to creditors in priority order. Sheriff's sales can be slow, and there is no guarantee the sale price will cover the full judgment.

A writ remains on file for six years and can be renewed.

Charging Orders

If the debtor holds an interest in a partnership or a private corporation, you may be able to obtain a charging order — a court order charging that interest with the payment of the judgment debt. This is a more specialized remedy, but it can be effective when the debtor's wealth is tied up in a business.

How Long Does a Judgment Last?

In Ontario, a court judgment is enforceable for 10 years from the date it was obtained. After 10 years, a judgment can be renewed for an additional 10-year period by bringing a fresh court proceeding on the judgment. This means a debt does not simply disappear because a few years have passed — but you must actively renew if the enforcement period is approaching.

A writ of seizure and sale filed with the Sheriff is valid for six years and must be separately renewed.

What If the Debtor Has No Assets?

If a thorough examination reveals the debtor genuinely has nothing — no job, no bank account, no real estate, no reachable assets — enforcing the judgment becomes practically very difficult. This is sometimes described as a judgment debtor being "judgment-proof." In those circumstances, options include waiting until the debtor's circumstances improve (the judgment stays alive), monitoring for asset changes, or — as a last resort — accepting that collection may not be possible at this time.

Frequently asked questions