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Small Claims Court

Small claims is Canada's people's court — simplified procedure, modest fees, self-representation expected — but its ceiling depends entirely on where you sue: $50,000 in Ontario (since 1 October 2025), $100,000 in Alberta, $35,000 in BC's Provincial Court (with the online CRT below $5,000), $15,000 in Quebec, where lawyers are barred from the hearing. Behind every claim sits the 2-year limitation clock. Call 1-855-529-1555 free, any hour, to find out where your dispute fits and whether it's worth the filing fee.

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The limitation period outranks the merits: most provinces give 2 years from when you discovered the claim (Quebec: 3), and special short notices hide in front of it — claims against municipalities can require written notice within days. If your dispute is anywhere near two years old, treat the deadline as the emergency and file first-class questions later.

Small Claims Court at a glance

The ceilings

ON $50,000 (since 1 Oct 2025) · AB $100,000 · BC: CRT to $5,000, Small Claims $5,001–$35,000 · QC $15,000 (no lawyers at the hearing) — others in between

The clock

Generally 2 years from discovery (Quebec 3) — with shorter special notices for some defendants

Costs are capped

Modest filing fees, limited costs exposure — losing doesn''t bankrupt you the way superior court can

Abandon to fit

You can waive the excess of a slightly-over claim to stay under the ceiling — often the rational trade

Judgment ≠ money

Winning creates a judgment; collecting is garnishment, seizure and registration — check collectability first

Is small claims the right room for your dispute?

Small claims courts decide money claims (debts, unpaid invoices, damage, deposits, defective goods and services, some contract fallout) and, in most provinces, recovery of personal property — up to the ceiling. What they don't do: family matters, land title, defamation in some provinces, and claims against some defendants without special notice (municipalities and provincial Crowns have their own regimes). Ontario's jump to $50,000 pulled a band of disputes out of Superior Court's Simplified Procedure and into the cheaper room; Alberta's $100,000 ceiling makes its Court of Justice the venue for genuinely substantial fights; BC routes almost everything under $5,000 (plus most strata disputes) through the online Civil Resolution Tribunal first. Quebec's Small Claims Division is its own culture: $15,000 cap, no lawyer representation at the hearing (advice beforehand is allowed and wise), and a judge who actively runs the proceeding. Slightly-over claims can abandon the excess to fit — trading a few thousand dollars of claim for tens of thousands in avoided procedure is often the adult move. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

Running a claim (or a defence) that wins

The demand letter comes first — amount, basis, deadline, consequence — because it settles a real share of disputes and reads well in front of a judge later. Then the claim: name the right defendant (the person, the corporation — check the exact legal name and consider a corporate search; suing the wrong entity wins nothing), plead the story plainly with dates and amounts, and attach the documents. Service rules matter and are strict. Most provinces then route through a settlement conference — a judge-supervised negotiation that resolves many files — before any trial. Trial itself is evidence discipline: the contract, the messages, the photos, the invoices, a chronology, and witnesses who saw things (not just sympathise). Defendants run the same playbook in reverse: respond within the deadline (default judgment is the cost of silence), counterclaim where the money runs the other way, and bring the paper. Costs awards exist but are capped low — which is the design: the room is priced so ordinary people can afford to be wrong. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

After judgment — turning paper into money

A judgment is a licence to collect, not a cheque. The machinery: garnishment of wages and bank accounts, seizure and sale of eligible assets through the enforcement office, registration against land (which waits for a sale or refinance and accrues interest), and debtor examinations that put the debtor under oath about what they have. Judgments last for years, revive, and follow debtors across provinces through reciprocal registration. All of which is why the collectability check belongs before filing: a defendant with a job, a bank account or property is worth suing; one with nothing is a certificate on your wall. The free line's most valuable minute is often exactly this triage — worth suing, worth settling, or worth walking away. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

Suing in small claims, step by step

Check the clock, the ceiling and the pocketInside 2 years (3 in Quebec)? Inside your province''s limit — or worth abandoning the excess? And is the defendant collectable? Three questions before any fee.

Demand in writing, then file properlyA dated demand letter with a deadline; then the claim against the correctly named defendant, served by the rules, with the documents attached.

Prepare like it matters — with an hour of advice where it helpsChronology, evidence bundle, witnesses; use the settlement conference seriously. Call 1-855-529-1555 free, any hour — a C$295 consultation with a Canadian lawyer (the total, nothing added) sharpens a claim or a defence fast.

Small Claims Court — your questions answered

How much does it cost to sue in small claims court?

Filing fees are modest — typically in the tens to low hundreds of dollars depending on province and claim size, with additional small fees for enforcement steps later. Fee waivers exist for people who can't afford them. Costs exposure if you lose is deliberately capped low (a key contrast with superior court). The real costs are time and evidence-gathering — which is why the demand letter, which is nearly free, always goes first.

Do I need a lawyer for small claims?

You're not required to have one, the procedure assumes many parties won't, and in Quebec's division lawyers can't appear at the hearing at all. Where professional help earns its keep: checking the limitation date, naming the right defendant, framing the claim, valuing settlement, and preparing cross-examination on the other side's story. Paralegals appear routinely in Ontario. An hour of advice before filing — precisely the C$295 consultation — is the high-leverage version.

My claim is a bit over the limit. What are my options?

Three: sue in the higher court with its heavier procedure and costs exposure; split nothing (you cannot divide one claim into two small claims to dodge the cap); or abandon the excess and sue for the ceiling — the common choice, trading the overage for speed and low costs. With Ontario at $50,000 and Alberta at $100,000, far fewer claims face this dilemma than a few years ago. Run the honest math: recovery odds, time, stress and costs, not just the headline number.

I've been served with a small claim. What now?

Respond inside the deadline on the paperwork — silence produces default judgment for the full amount, and setting defaults aside is uphill. File the defence with your version and documents, counterclaim if they owe you, and engage with the settlement conference genuinely — judges push realistic numbers there. If the claim has a point, a structured offer early beats a judgment later; if it doesn't, the evidence bundle is your answer. Either way, an hour of advice before the conference pays for itself.

I won. The defendant just ignores the judgment. What actually works?

Enforcement, chosen by what the debtor has: garnish wages through their employer, garnish the bank account (timing matters), instruct the enforcement office to seize eligible assets, register against their land and wait with interest running, or summon them to a debtor examination under oath — where lying has consequences and payment plans get real. Judgments last for years and can be renewed. Pick the tool that matches their assets; the free line can walk you through which fits.