A History of Law in Canada is an important three-volume project. Volume One begins at a time just prior to European contact and continues to the 1860s, Volume Two covers the half century after Confederation, and Volume Three covers the period from the beginning of the First World War to 1982, with a postscript taking the account to approximately 2000. The history of law includes substantive law, legal institutions, legal actors, and legal culture. The authors assume that since 1500 there have been three legal systems in Canada – the Indigenous, the French, and the English. At all times, these systems have co-existed and interacted, with the relative power and influence of each being more or less dominant in different periods. The history of law cannot be treated in isolation, and this book examines law as a dynamic process, shaped by and affecting other histories over the long term. The law guided and was guided by economic developments, was influenced and moulded by the nature and trajectory of political ideas and institutions, and variously exacerbated or mediated intercultural exchange and conflict. These themes are apparent in this examination, and through most areas of law including land settlement and tenure, and family, commercial, constitutional, and criminal law.

This introductory text is intended to demystify the law and to provide information on the key components of the Canadian legal system including chapters on: The nature of law and competing theories of law Legal pluralism - how the Canadian legal system interacts with various religious legal systems Sources of Canadian law including legislation and caselaw The legal history of Britain, the reception of English law in Canada, the history of Civil Law in Quebec, and the bijural system The Constitution and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The structure of Canadian government Courts across Canada and the work of judges and lawyers Problems regarding access to justice Substantive law including Criminal Law, Property Law, Contract Law, and Tort Law Procedural laws governing civil disputes and criminal prosecutions.