- Ontario’s basic limitation period runs generally two years from the day the claim is discovered, and it applies based on when and where you discovered the claim — not based on where the…
- ) These longer windows exist because it simply takes more time to arrange service and respond from farther away.
- If a defendant has moved, tracking down a current address for service can take real time and effort, and that time comes out of whatever remains of your limitation period, not extra time…
You’ve decided to sue, and then you realize the person or company you need to sue has moved to another province, relocated to the U.S., or never lived in Ontario at all. It’s natural to wonder whether the limitation period changes when the defendant lives outside Ontario — whether you get more time, less time, or need to start over somewhere else.
The short answer is that the deadline to start your claim generally does not move just because the defendant is somewhere else. What does change is the process afterward: how you serve them, and how long they get to respond once you do.
This guide separates the two issues — the limitation period itself, and the procedural steps affected by a defendant’s location — so you know which clock actually matters at each stage.
The Limitation Period Itself Doesn’t Reset for Distance
Ontario’s basic limitation period runs generally two years from the day the claim is discovered, and it applies based on when and where you discovered the claim — not based on where the defendant happens to live when you’re ready to sue (as of mid-2026 — verify the current period before relying on it). Moving to another province, or to another country, does not itself give a defendant a fresh start, and it does not give the plaintiff more time either.
Where things can get more complicated is if you genuinely did not know who was responsible, or could not have identified the defendant, until later — that can affect when your claim was discovered in the first place. But that is a different question from a defendant simply relocating after the events in question.
What Actually Changes: Serving the Claim and Their Time to Respond
Once you start a Superior Court action, the defendant generally needs to be formally served, and Ontario’s civil rules give a longer response window depending on where that service happens:
| Where the defendant is served | Time to serve and file a defence |
|---|---|
| Within Ontario | 20 days |
| Elsewhere in Canada, or in the United States | 40 days |
| Outside Canada and the United States | 60 days |
(As of mid-2026 — verify the current rule before relying on it.) These longer windows exist because it simply takes more time to arrange service and respond from farther away. They are not a sign that your own claim has any extra time to be started.
Practical Complications an Out-of-Province Defendant Creates
- Finding them. If a defendant has moved, tracking down a current address for service can take real time and effort, and that time comes out of whatever remains of your limitation period, not extra time added on top.
- Serving them properly. Service outside Ontario has its own procedural rules, and getting it wrong can mean starting the service process over — again eating into time you may not have to spare.
- Deciding where to sue. In some cases, more than one jurisdiction could arguably hear a dispute. Where a claim should be started is a separate legal question from the limitation deadline, and getting it wrong can cost you time you cannot recover.
- Enforcement later. Even after a judgment, collecting from someone outside Ontario, or outside Canada, generally requires additional legal steps beyond what is needed against a local defendant.
Don’t Wait to "Locate" Someone Before Acting
Because tracking someone down, arranging service, and confirming the right court can all take time, the practical lesson is the opposite of intuitive: an out-of-province defendant is a reason to start the process earlier, not later. Waiting until you are certain of their exact address, or until you’ve confirmed every procedural detail yourself, risks running out your basic limitation period while you are still trying to locate them.
Frequently asked questions
If I didn’t know where the defendant moved to, does that pause my limitation period?
Not automatically. The limitation clock is generally tied to when you discovered the claim itself, not to your ability to locate the defendant afterward, though genuine uncertainty about who was responsible can sometimes be relevant to discoverability. This distinction is fact-specific and worth confirming with a lawyer.
Do I have to sue in the province where the defendant now lives?
Not necessarily. Ontario courts can have jurisdiction over out-of-province defendants in many circumstances, particularly where the underlying events happened in Ontario. Which court properly has jurisdiction is a separate legal question from where you’d prefer to sue, and it should be assessed before you file.
Does suing someone outside Canada mean I need a different kind of lawsuit?
No, the underlying claim and court process are generally the same. What changes is mainly how the defendant is served and how long they are given to respond, both of which take longer for defendants outside Canada.
What if the defendant is deliberately avoiding being served?
Ontario’s civil rules have mechanisms for dealing with a defendant who is evading service, but they take time to use properly, which is another reason not to wait until close to your deadline to start the process.
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