Law360 Canada (June 4, 2026, 2:36 PM EDT) -- Newfoundland and Labrador has passed legislative changes that will have the province’s Unified Family Court expanded to the island of Newfoundland.

With this, the province’s Supreme Court will have responsibility for all family justice matters “for the island portion of the province” — and in so doing take pressure off the provincial court to allow it more time in dealing with criminal justice.

“By expanding the Unified Family Court (UFC) model, there will be access to a single, specialized court for all family matters,” states a June 4 news release. “This is intended to lead to more efficient court appearances, more timely decisions, and better access to support services. For families in central Newfoundland that means they will no longer have to navigate two courts. All family matters — divorce, parenting, support, property — will be heard in the Family Division.”

Minister of Justice and Public Safety Helen Conway Ottenheimer said the amendments “are another way [the province] is supporting the operations of the courts.”

“Our government is committed to working with the Supreme Court and Provincial Court on any legislative efforts to improve timely access to justice for all of us,” said Ottenheimer in a statement.

The release notes that the changes to the Judicature Act will not come into force until April 1, 2027, thus allowing the Supreme Court time to work with the provincial court in the transferring of jurisdiction “to the entire island portion of the province.”

Newfoundland and Labrador’s UFC was piloted in the capital of St. John’s in 1979, according to a document from Canada’s Department of Justice. It was one of four Canadian provinces to first pilot the courts in the 1970s.

Areas in Canada lacking UFCs have it so family law matters are heard in two different courts, depending on the matter; critics have called it a two-tiered system that causes inefficiency, confusion and higher costs.

The Advocates’ Society, long a proponent for the expansion of Unified Family Courts across Canada, recently criticized Newfoundland and Labrador as one of the country’s UFC jurisdictions that lack those courts in various parts of the province.

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