Administrative Law Year in Review 2025

Appropriately enough for Halloween (perhaps!), here is my ‘year in review‘ paper for this year:

This paper traces how Canadian courts in 2025 continued to consolidate and refine the post-Vavilov landscape. The year’s jurisprudence reflects a mature administrative law—anchored in justification, consistency, and institutional restraint—rather than one in doctrinal flux. At the Supreme Court, Pepa v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) reaffirmed that reliance on irrelevant or outdated precedent renders administrative reasoning unreasonable, reinforcing Vavilov’s central demand for transparency and justification. Telus Communications Inc. v. Federation of Canadian Municipalities illustrated the continuing vitality of correctness review in matters of constitutional and technological interpretation, confirming the judiciary’s role in maintaining coherence across evolving statutory regimes. At the appellate level, courts have extended Vavilov’s reach in Universal Ostrich Farms and Rogers, applying reasonableness review to government policies and inaction. Parallel developments in Best Buy and Canadian National Railway blurred the traditional line between statutory appeals and judicial review, as appellate courts increasingly imported Vavilov’s reasoning requirements into both contexts. In arbitration, divergent provincial approaches to appellate standards—Manitoba favouring reasonableness, the Northwest Territories correctness—highlight ongoing uncertainty likely to attract future Supreme Court attention. Courts also deepened their analysis of procedural fairness, bias, and institutional independence, striking a balance between efficiency and legitimacy in administrative decision-making. Meanwhile, the Federal Court of Appeal’s “tactical burden” doctrine refined how appellate courts engage with judicial review outcomes, underscoring the evolving relationship between administrative and appellate oversight. Collectively, the 2025 decisions signal consolidation rather than change: Vavilov’s principles have not only endured but expanded, embedding a pervasive culture of justification across Canadian administrative law and reaffirming the judiciary’s commitment to reasoned, transparent governance.

Both a trick and a treat, I hope! Download it here.

This content has been updated on October 31, 2025 at 20:55.