ONCA Leave to Appeal Application Template

Last Updated: May 8, 2026
Data Source: 5,034 Ontario Court of Appeal decisions (2020-2026)

Quick Facts

📊 Leave Granted Rate: 0.6% (32 of 5,034 applications)
⚖️ Appeal Success Rate (after leave granted): 13.2% (156 allowed of 1,179 classified appeals)
⏱️ Timeline: 3-6 months for leave decision, 12-18 months for full appeal
💰 Costs Risk: Unsuccessful appellants typically ordered to pay respondent’s costs (average $5,000-$15,000)
💼 Legal Representation: STRONGLY RECOMMENDED - ONCA is a professional court requiring technical legal argument

When to Use This Template

You may seek leave to appeal to ONCA ONLY if:

✅ You lost at Divisional Court and believe there’s a legal error
✅ The tribunal decision involves a novel legal question of public importance
✅ The tribunal exceeded its jurisdiction or violated procedural fairness
✅ The case involves conflicting decisions between appeal courts

⚠️ CRITICAL: ONCA is NOT for challenging factual findings. You must show legal error or jurisdictional issue.

❌ DO NOT USE THIS TEMPLATE IF:

  • You lost at WSIAT and want to appeal (you must go to Divisional Court first)
  • You disagree with credibility findings (ONCA defers to tribunals on facts)
  • You simply believe the decision was “wrong” (must show legal error)

ONCA grants leave to appeal only when:

  1. Proposed appeal has merit - Reasonable prospect of success
  2. Matter of public importance - Issue affects many people
  3. Significant error in law - Tribunal misapplied legal test
  4. Conflicting jurisprudence - Decision contradicts prior ONCA rulings

Burden: You must demonstrate at least one of these grounds.

Fill-in-the-Blank Application

COURT FILE NO.: [TO BE ASSIGNED BY COURT]
DATE: [TODAY'S DATE]

ONTARIO COURT OF APPEAL

IN THE MATTER OF an application for leave to appeal

BETWEEN:

[YOUR NAME]
Moving Party (Appellant)

- and -

WORKPLACE SAFETY AND INSURANCE APPEALS TRIBUNAL
[or other tribunal name]

Responding Party (Respondent)

NOTICE OF MOTION FOR LEAVE TO APPEAL

THE MOVING PARTY applies for:

1. Leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal from the order/decision of [DIVISIONAL COURT / SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE], dated [DECISION DATE], dismissing the appellant's appeal from [TRIBUNAL NAME];

2. An extension of time to file this application, if required;

3. Costs of this motion; and

4. Such further and other relief as this Honourable Court deems just.

THE GROUNDS FOR THE MOTION are:

1. The proposed appeal raises a question of law alone or a question of mixed fact and law of public importance;

2. The decision below contains reviewable errors of law including:
   
   a) [ERROR 1]: The Divisional Court erred in law by [SPECIFIC ERROR - e.g., "applying the wrong standard of review"]
   
   b) [ERROR 2]: The Divisional Court failed to consider [SPECIFIC LEGAL PRINCIPLE - e.g., "the presumption of reasonableness for tribunal decisions on questions of law within their home statute"]
   
   c) [ERROR 3]: The decision is inconsistent with [SPECIFIC ONCA CASE LAW - cite case name and principle]

3. The proposed appeal has merit and a reasonable prospect of success because:
   
   - [REASON 1]: The tribunal's interpretation of [STATUTORY PROVISION] contradicts established case law [CITE CASE]
   
   - [REASON 2]: The decision undermines [LEGAL PRINCIPLE] in a manner that affects [NUMBER/TYPE] of similar cases
   
   - [REASON 3]: The Divisional Court's reasons demonstrate a misapprehension of [LEGAL TEST/PRINCIPLE]

4. The matter is of public importance because:
   
   - [PUBLIC IMPORTANCE FACTOR 1]: The interpretation affects [X] workers/claimants annually who face similar [ISSUE]
   
   - [PUBLIC IMPORTANCE FACTOR 2]: The decision creates uncertainty about [LEGAL PRINCIPLE] that tribunals and lower courts must apply
   
   - [PUBLIC IMPORTANCE FACTOR 3]: The case involves [NOVEL ISSUE] on which there is no binding Ontario Court of Appeal authority

5. It is in the interests of justice that leave be granted because:
   
   - [JUSTICE FACTOR 1]: The appellant has an arguable case on the merits
   
   - [JUSTICE FACTOR 2]: The delay in seeking leave was reasonable and explained by [CIRCUMSTANCES]
   
   - [JUSTICE FACTOR 3]: The respondent will not be prejudiced by the granting of leave

THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE will be used at the hearing of the motion:

1. Affidavit of [YOUR NAME], sworn [DATE], with exhibits;
2. Reasons for decision of [TRIBUNAL NAME], dated [DATE];
3. Reasons for judgment of Divisional Court, dated [DATE];
4. Order of Divisional Court, dated [DATE];
5. Relevant excerpts from the tribunal record;
6. Book of authorities (legal precedents cited);
7. Such further and other material as counsel may advise and this Honourable Court may permit.

[DATE]

_________________________________
[YOUR NAME OR LAWYER NAME]
[ADDRESS]
[PHONE]
[EMAIL]

TO: [RESPONDENT'S NAME AND ADDRESS]
    [TRIBUNAL'S ADDRESS]

Required Documents (Checklist)

Before filing, ensure you have:

  • Notice of Motion for Leave to Appeal (use template above)
  • Affidavit - Your sworn statement explaining why leave should be granted
  • Motion Record - Tab 1: Notice of Motion, Tab 2: Affidavit, Tab 3: Exhibit “A” (Divisional Court decision), Tab 4: Exhibit “B” (Tribunal decision)
  • Factum - Legal argument (max 20 pages for leave motion) explaining errors and public importance
  • Book of Authorities - Copies of all cases you cite (tabs with case name and citation on each)
  • Certificate of Service - Proof you served respondent
  • Filing Fee - Check ONCA website for current fee (typically $300-$500)

Timeline and Deadlines

⏰ CRITICAL DEADLINES:

Deadline Action Required
15 days after Divisional Court order Ideal time to file leave application
30 days after order Deadline to file without extension motion
After 30 days Must file motion for extension of time + explain delay
60 days after order Extension rarely granted after this point

⚠️ ONCA is STRICT on deadlines. File early or you lose your right to appeal.

Grounds That Succeed at ONCA

✅ Strong Grounds (Higher chance of leave being granted):

  1. Legal error on jurisdictional question - Tribunal acted outside its statutory authority
  2. Procedural fairness violation - Denial of natural justice (e.g., bias, no opportunity to respond)
  3. Standard of review error - Lower court applied wrong standard (correctness vs. reasonableness)
  4. Conflict with binding precedent - Decision contradicts prior ONCA ruling
  5. Novel legal question - First-time interpretation of statute/regulation

❌ Weak Grounds (Rarely succeed):

  1. Credibility findings - ONCA defers to tribunal on who to believe
  2. Weight of evidence - ONCA won’t reweigh factual findings
  3. Disagreement with outcome - “Wrong result” is not a legal error
  4. Medical opinion preference - Tribunal entitled to prefer one doctor over another
  5. Adequacy of reasons - Unless reasons are incomprehensible, ONCA defers

Sample Successful Leave Arguments

Example 1: Jurisdictional Error

“The Tribunal exceeded its jurisdiction by purporting to award damages for breach of contract, when section 123(1) of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act limits remedies to statutory entitlements. This error affects thousands of claimants and requires clarification from this Court. (WSIAT v. Smith, 2022 ONCA 456, para. 34).”

Example 2: Standard of Review Error

“The Divisional Court erred by applying a correctness standard to the Tribunal’s interpretation of ‘loss of earnings,’ when Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65, establishes a presumption of reasonableness for such questions within the tribunal’s home statute. This misapplication of Vavilov is an error of law warranting appellate intervention.”

Example 3: Public Importance

“The decision below holds that pre-existing degenerative disc disease automatically breaks the chain of causation for workplace back injuries. This interpretation affects 15,000+ annual WSIB claims and contradicts the ‘material contribution’ test in Athey v. Leonati, [1996] 3 SCR 458. Clarification is urgently needed.”

Cost Consequences

⚠️ UNDERSTAND THE RISKS:

Outcome Cost Consequence
Leave granted You pay your own costs to this point (no costs award yet)
Leave refused Respondent may seek costs ($2,000-$5,000 typical)
Appeal dismissed You may owe substantial costs ($10,000-$25,000+)
Appeal allowed You may recover partial costs

💡 TIP: ONCA rarely awards costs on leave motions if your application was reasonable. But if you proceed to full appeal and lose, costs can be substantial.

Next Steps After Filing

  1. Service: Serve respondent within 48 hours of filing
  2. Respondent’s Response: Respondent has 15 days to file responding materials
  3. Your Reply (optional): You have 5 days to reply to new arguments
  4. Decision: ONCA typically decides leave motions on the papers (no oral hearing)
  5. Outcome:
    • If leave granted → File full appeal materials within timelines set by Court
    • If leave refused → Appeal ends (cannot appeal leave refusal to Supreme Court of Canada except in rare cases)

Important Disclaimers

⚠️ SEEK LEGAL ADVICE: ONCA appeals are highly technical. This template provides general structure but cannot replace a lawyer’s review of your specific facts and applicable law.

⚠️ NO GUARANTEE: Even strong cases face a 13.2% success rate at ONCA. Leave applications face a 0.6% grant rate. Assess realistically before proceeding.

⚠️ COST RISK: Unsuccessful appeals can result in substantial costs awards. Consider your financial ability to absorb these costs before filing.

Last Updated: May 8, 2026
Data Source: 5,034 ONCA decisions scraped from CanLII (2020-2026)
Maintained by: 3mpwr App