What the Small Claims Courts of Canada does
Small claims courts decide money disputes up to the provincial ceiling — unpaid debts and invoices, damage deposits, defective goods and services, contract fallout, property damage — and, in most provinces, the return of personal property. Procedure is deliberately light — plain-language claim forms, evidence attached rather than discovered, settlement conferences where most files resolve, and hearings where the judge or adjudicator asks the questions that matter. Claims slightly over the ceiling can proceed by abandoning the excess. What these courts do not hear — family matters, land title, and defendants with special notice regimes (municipalities and Crowns) — belongs elsewhere, and the 2-year limitation clock (3 in Quebec) applies exactly as it does in the bigger rooms.
What it hears
- Unpaid debts, invoices and loans — the workhorse caseload
- Defective goods and poor workmanship claims against sellers and tradespeople
- Deposits, damage and property disputes between individuals and businesses
- Contract disputes within the ceiling — services, sales, private agreements
- Recovery of personal property (most provinces)
- Enforcement steps on judgments — garnishment, seizure, debtor examinations
Before your first court date
Send a proper demand letter before filing — a dated letter stating the amount, the basis and a deadline settles a real share of disputes and reads as reasonableness later. Confirm the limitation date, name the defendant exactly (person versus corporation — a corporate search costs little and suing the wrong entity wins nothing), and file with your documents attached. If you are the defendant, respond inside the deadline on the paperwork — silence produces default judgment. Both sides should prepare a one-page chronology and a tabbed evidence bundle — contracts, messages, photos, invoices — in triplicate.
What happens at your first appearance
In most provinces the first event is a settlement conference — an informal, judge-supervised negotiation where a large share of files resolve. Come with your evidence, your realistic number and authority to settle. It is not the trial, but the judge will reality-test both sides, and positions taken there echo later. If the matter proceeds to a hearing, expect an active judge, plain-language questioning, evidence by document and short testimony, and a decision either on the spot or in writing shortly after. Costs awards exist but are capped low by design.
What to prepare
- The contract, invoices, receipts and every relevant message, organised and copied
- A one-page chronology of what happened, with dates
- Photos or videos of defects or damage, dated where possible
- Witnesses who saw things first-hand — confirmed and available
- Your demand letter and the other side's responses — the reasonableness record
When to get legal advice
This page is general legal information, not legal advice. Small claims is built for self-representation — and in Quebec's division lawyers cannot appear at the hearing at all — but an hour of advice punches hardest here on exactly four questions — the limitation date, the right defendant, the framing of the claim, and the value of a settlement. Legal Hotline's free line explains your province's process any hour on 1-855-529-1555, and a one-hour consultation with a Canadian lawyer (C$295, the total, nothing added) can be booked right on the call.
Where it is
Small claims sits wherever the provincial courts sit — Toronto's dedicated Small Claims Court at 47 Sheppard Avenue East, the civil divisions of courthouses across Alberta and BC, Quebec's Small Claims Division inside each Palais de justice — and in BC, claims under $5,000 mostly proceed entirely online through the Civil Resolution Tribunal. Your claim or notice names the venue.
Frequently asked questions
How much can I claim in my province?
The ceilings vary widely — Ontario $50,000 (since 1 October 2025), Alberta $100,000, BC $35,000 in Provincial Court with the online CRT handling most claims under $5,000, Quebec $15,000, and the remaining provinces between roughly $15,000 and $35,000. You can abandon the excess of a slightly larger claim to fit under your ceiling — often the economically rational trade against superior-court procedure and costs.
Do I need a lawyer for small claims court?
No — the forum assumes many parties will not have one, judges actively manage hearings, and Quebec bars lawyers from its small-claims hearings entirely (advice beforehand is allowed and wise). Paralegals appear routinely in Ontario. Where professional help genuinely pays is before filing — limitation check, correct defendant, claim framing — and before settling. That is the shape of the C$295 consultation.
I won. How do I actually get paid?
A judgment is a licence to collect, not a cheque. The tools — garnishment of wages and bank accounts, seizure of eligible assets through the enforcement office, registration against land, and debtor examinations under oath — are chosen by what the debtor actually has. Judgments last years and can be renewed. Sanity-check collectability before filing at all — a judgment against someone with nothing is a certificate, not cash.
What happens if I ignore a claim served on me?
Default judgment for the full amount, typically with interest and costs, followed by enforcement against your wages, accounts or property — and setting aside a default is uphill and urgent. If a claim has any substance, respond and negotiate at the settlement conference; if it has none, file the defence with your documents. Either way, the deadline on the paperwork is the one that matters.