The rule of law is not a given

Law360 Canada (April 8, 2026, 10:53 AM EDT) --

Darryl Singer

Most of us who have grown up in Canada, whether we realize it or not, have always taken the rule of law for granted. We never really thought about it, or what it even was, but that is precisely the point. It has always just been there, like oxygen. You don’t think about oxygen until you have trouble breathing.

We as a society are now having trouble breathing.

I want to be clear from the outset: this is not a left versus right column. I sit solidly in the middle, more left on some issues, more right on others, but always trying to see both sides, just as the good litigator I am. As I have written in this space before, I believe the tribalism that has infected our politics is one of the greatest threats to our collective well-being. That tribalism is exactly what is threatening the rule of law.

The rule of law, at its core, is a simple concept: that no one is above the law, and that the law applies equally to everyone. It took us a very long time to get here. The Magna Carta is over 800 years old, and even then, it took centuries before its principles were truly extended to everyone. The development of an independent judiciary, habeas corpus and constitutional democracy were not inevitable. They were fought for, bled for and, in many parts of the world, died for. They are not the default state of human civilization. Authoritarianism is the default. The rule of law is the exception, and a fragile one.

According to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, 94 countries suffered a decline in at least one factor of democratic performance last year. The V-Dem Institute’s 2026 Democracy Report found that nearly a quarter of the world’s nations are experiencing democratic backsliding, with the sharpest declines now reaching into Western democracies including, remarkably, the United States. Rule of law is the weakest-performing category globally, with 71 countries classified as low-performing, and judicial independence is where the decline is most concentrated.

Canada is not immune. We rank 13th in the World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index — ahead of the United States at 27th — but that ranking is not something to celebrate.

For my whole life, people have said “It can’t happen here” when referring to authoritarian bents of government and the people. But it is. And it is coming from left and right. Both sides think they can eschew the rule of law when prosecuting the other side but conveniently want to use it as a shield against their own activities.

What truly concerns me is how casually people seem willing to toss aside the rule of law when it does not serve their immediate purposes. Politicians invoke the notwithstanding clause not as the extraordinary measure it was intended to be but as a routine tool to override judicial decisions they dislike. Ontario Premier Doug Ford has publicly called judicial independence “a joke” and floated the idea of American-style elected judges. When a premier tells the public that judges have “a sense of entitlement” and that elected officials should be “supreme” over the courts, he is not just criticizing a decision. He is undermining the very foundation of our legal system.

And it is not only politicians. It is all of us.

People on the left celebrated when a health insurance executive was gunned down on a New York City street because they despised the industry he represented. They contorted themselves to justify the killing of Charlie Kirk or attacks on those they deem Zionists. Those on the right cheer when authoritarian measures are deployed against immigrants, Black and brown people, a woman’s right to choose is curtailed, or federal agencies are used to attack and punish political enemies. Both sides want freedom of speech and due process for their own causes, but cancellation, arrest or worse for those on the other side.

Much of this, I believe, is fuelled by how people now consume information. Views are shaped by social media echo chambers devoid of context, by an education system that too often teaches students what to think rather than how to think, and by the simple fact that many people no longer have anyone in their close circle who holds a different opinion. Thus, they arrive at fierce convictions untethered to any framework of principle. The ideas become their identity.

This is where we, as lawyers, come in. Regardless of what area of law you practise, you must uphold the rule of law and fight its demise in any way you can. It’s not just a professional obligation; it is a civic one. When politicians attack the independence of the judiciary, we need to speak up. When clients, friends or colleagues casually suggest that the law should not apply to people they do not like, we need to push back. When we see the erosion happening, we cannot just shake our heads and go back to our files.

Hundreds of years of legal protection can be lost in a moment. And I fear that moment may be closer than any of us are comfortable admitting. The Canadian Bar Association, the Federation of Law Societies and legal commentators across the country have all sounded the alarm in the last year. We should be listening.

The rule of law is not self-sustaining. It requires people who believe in it to defend it, especially when doing so is inconvenient, especially when the mob is cheering the other way. That has always been the job of lawyers. It has never been more important than it is right now.

Darryl Singer is a partner at Diamond & Diamond Lawyers LLP in Toronto and, despite everything he has written in this column, remains cautiously optimistic about the resilience of Canadian democracy.

The opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author’s firm, its clients, LexisNexis Canada, Law360 Canada or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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