Nominated by Brian Mulroney Alma mater University of Alberta Education University of Alberta Nominated by Pierre Trudeau Role Justice | Nominated by Pierre Trudeau Name William Stevenson Nominated by Pierre Trudeau Profession Lawyer | |
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Born May 7, 1934 (age 89)
Edmonton, Alberta ( 1934-05-07 ) | ||
William Alexander Stevenson, OC (born May 7, 1934) was a Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1990 to 1992.
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Early life
Stevenson was born in Edmonton, Alberta to Alexander Lindsay Stevenson and Eileen Harriet Burns. In 1956, he graduated from the University of Alberta with a B.A., and then an LL.B. in 1957. While at university, he helped found the Alberta Law Review and served as its first Editor in Chief. Upon graduation, he received the Horace Harvey Gold Medal in Law.
Career
He worked at the firm of Morrow, Morrow & Reynolds (subsequently Morrow, Reynolds and Stevenson, now Reynolds, Mirth, Richards & Farmer LLP) in Edmonton until 1968.
In 1963, he became a teacher at the University of Alberta, serving as a full-time professor from 1968 until 1970 when he returned to his firm. In 1975, he was the first Chairman of the Legal Education Society of Alberta.
Justice
In 1975, he was appointed to the District Court of Alberta and then to the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta in 1979. The following year he was appointed to the Court of Appeal of Alberta where he stayed for over ten years. He has also served on the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories from 1976–1980, the Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories from 1980–1990, and the Supreme Court of the Yukon Territory from 1978-1983. He also was a founder of the Canadian Judicial Centre in the late 1980s, and is seen as a pioneer of continuing education for Canadian judges.
On September 17, 1990, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada, however, he retired only two years later on June 5, 1992 for health reasons. Between October 1990 and April 1992 he published a total of 21 reasons for judgment.
Publications
Alongside, Jean E.L. Cote, Stevenson has authored the Annotations of The Alberta Rules of Court which would become the Civil Procedure Encyclopedia, a five volume treatise used often by barristers and the courts.
Awards
In 1992 he received an Honorary LLD from the University of Alberta. In 1996 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.