Check Canadian case citations in Microsoft Word

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LexDraft is an AI drafting and review add-in for Microsoft Word. When an answer in its Assistant pane cites a Canadian case by neutral citation, such as 2008 SCC 9 or 2020 ONCA 450, LexDraft checks that citation against case metadata from CanLII and, when a decision with that citation exists, links to it on CanLII. Law report citations, such as [2008] 1 SCR 190, are not checked yet.

How the Canadian citation check works

Ask in the Assistant pane. Set the jurisdiction chip to Canada: Federal or a province if you work in Canadian law, then ask your question in the LexDraft panel in Word.
Open the answer's references. When the answer cites cases, a "References" button appears under it. It opens a card for each cited case.
Neutral citations are looked up. For a Canadian neutral citation, LexDraft makes one metadata lookup on CanLII for that court and decision number.
Read the result. The card shows "Citation matched" with a link that opens the decision on CanLII, "No match found", or "Not checked" for a citation the check cannot read.
Open the decision. Compare the case name, date and passage with what the answer says before you rely on it.

The check runs on citations in LexDraft's answers. It does not scan citations you have typed into your document. To check one of those, ask LexDraft about the case; if the answer cites it, its card shows the result.

Worked example: Dunsmuir v. New Brunswick, 2008 SCC 9

Suppose you ask LexDraft about the standard of review in Canadian administrative law, and the answer cites Dunsmuir v. New Brunswick, 2008 SCC 9, alongside its law report citation [2008] 1 SCR 190.

Citation in the answer	What LexDraft does	Card result
2008 SCC 9	Reads it as year 2008, court SCC (Supreme Court of Canada), decision 9, and looks it up in CanLII's case metadata.	Citation matched. Matched to 2008 SCC 9, with a link to the decision on CanLII.
[2008] 1 SCR 190	Recognises a Canadian law report citation, which the check cannot look up.	Not checked, with a note that neutral citations such as 2008 SCC 9 can be checked.
2008 SCC 999 (an invented number)	Looks it up and finds no decision with that citation.	No match found. Treat the citation as unverified until you find the decision.

For 2008 SCC 9, CanLII's metadata lists the decision as Dunsmuir v. New Brunswick, decided 7 March 2008, at canlii.ca/t/1vxsm. That is the page the card's link opens. The check confirms that the citation points to a real decision. It does not tell you what the decision holds or whether it is still followed (on standard of review, later Supreme Court of Canada decisions revisited Dunsmuir), so read the decision and check its later treatment yourself.

What a Canadian neutral citation looks like

A neutral citation is assigned by the court and does not depend on any law report: the year of the decision, the court's abbreviation and a sequential number. Examples: 2008 SCC 9 (Supreme Court of Canada) and 2020 ONCA 450 (Court of Appeal for Ontario). A citation may be followed by "(CanLII)", which the check ignores. Decisions without a supported court-assigned neutral citation are not checked. They may be cited by law report or by an electronic citation, including a CanLII-assigned citation.

Courts the check covers

Federal: SCC, FCA, FC, TCC, CMAC, CHRT.
Ontario: ONCA, ONSC, ONSC Divisional Court (ONSCDC), ONCJ, HRTO, ONLTB, ONLAT.
British Columbia: BCCA, BCSC, BCPC.
Alberta: ABCA, ABKB (and the older ABQB), ABCJ (and the older ABPC).
Saskatchewan: SKCA, SKKB (and the older SKQB), SKPC.
Manitoba: MBCA, MBKB (and the older MBQB), MBPC.
Quebec: QCCA, QCCS, QCCQ, QCTAT.
Atlantic: NBCA, NBKB (and the older NBQB), NSCA, NSSC, NSPC, PECA, NLCA.
Territories: YKCA, YKSC, NWTCA, NWTSC, NUCA, NUCJ.

Other courts and tribunals, for example NLSC, are answered "Not checked" for now.

Where the data comes from

The check uses case metadata from CanLII: the decision's title, citation, decision date and link. LexDraft does not search, store, show or summarise the text of decisions, and nothing from CanLII is given to the AI model. LexDraft is an independent product and is not affiliated with or endorsed by CanLII or any court. A daily limit applies to these lookups. If it is reached, checks pause until the next UTC day and the card shows "Could not check".

Why check citations in Word

A guard against invented citations. AI tools can produce citations that look right and do not exist. A "No match found" card flags a neutral citation that matches no decision on CanLII.
The source is one click away. A matched card links straight to the decision, so you read the original rather than a paraphrase.
Fewer tabs. You stay in the document you are drafting.

Also checking UK or US authorities? See case citation checking in Word for all three, UK neutral citations and US citations.

Frequently asked questions

Can LexDraft check Canadian case citations?

Yes, for neutral citations such as 2008 SCC 9 or 2020 ONCA 450. When a LexDraft answer in the Assistant pane cites a Canadian neutral citation, LexDraft looks it up in CanLII's case metadata and, if a decision with that citation exists, its reference card shows "Citation matched" with a link to the decision on CanLII.

Does LexDraft check law report citations such as [2008] 1 SCR 190?

Not yet. Law report citations are shown as "Not checked". Use the neutral citation for the decision (for example 2008 SCC 9 instead of [2008] 1 SCR 190) or check the report yourself.

Which Canadian courts are covered?

The Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal, the Federal Court, the Tax Court of Canada, the Court Martial Appeal Court and the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal; the courts of appeal of every province and territory and most of their superior and provincial courts; and some Ontario and Quebec tribunals. A court that is not on the list, such as the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador (NLSC), is answered "Not checked".

Does a match mean the case supports my point?

No. A match means a decision with that neutral citation exists on CanLII. It does not confirm the case name given in the answer, any quotation or the proposition. Open the decision and read it before you rely on it.

Does LexDraft search or summarise Canadian decisions?

No. LexDraft reads only CanLII case metadata (title, citation, decision date and link) to check a citation. It does not search decision text, show it, or summarise it. The Case law tab searches US and UK case law only.

Is LexDraft affiliated with CanLII?

No. LexDraft is an independent product. CanLII is the source of the case metadata used for the check, and the link opens the decision on CanLII's own site.

Check Canadian citations from Word

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Related guides

This guide is general information, not legal advice. LexDraft does not give legal advice; qualified counsel must review every draft and verify every authority. LexDraft is not affiliated with or endorsed by CanLII or any court. Spotted something out of date? Email support@lexdraft.ai and we will fix it.