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The Federal Court is Canada's national trial court which hears and decides legal disputes arising in the federal domain. The Court is based in Ottawa, and its members travel throughout Canada to hear cases within its national jurisdiction, thereby providing convenient access to justice to all Canadians.

 
The Honourable Martine St-Louis - Acting Chief Justice The Honourable Jocelyne Gagné The Honourable Catherine M. Kane The Honourable Yvan Roy The Honourable Michael D. Manson The Honourable Cecily Y. Strickland The Honourable Glennys L McVeigh The Honourable Alan S. Diner The Honourable Simon Fothergill The Honourable Denis Gascon The Honourable Richard F. Southcott The Honourable Patrick K. Gleeson The Honourable Ann Marie McDonald The Honourable Roger R. Lafrenière The Honourable William F. Pentney The Honourable Shirzad S. Ahmed The Honourable Sébastien Grammond The Honourable Paul Favel The Honourable John Norris The Honourable Nicholas McHaffie The Honourable Janet M. Fuhrer The Honourable Christine Pallotta The Honourable Andrew D. Little The Honourable Angela Furlanetto The Honourable Lobat Sadrehashemi The Honourable Avvy Yao-Yao Go The Honourable Mandy Aylen The Honourable Guy Régimbald The Honourable Ekaterina Tsimberis The Honourable Anne M. Turley The Honourable Negar Azmudeh The Honourable Phuong T.V. Ngo The Honourable Allyson Whyte Nowak The Honourable Angus G. Grant The Honourable Julie L. Blackhawk The Honourable Michael Battista The Honourable Benoit M. Duchesne The Honourable Love Saint-Fleur The Honourable Meaghan M. Conroy The Honourable Danielle Ferron The Honourable Andrew J. Brouwer The Honourable Darren Thorne The Honourable François Joyal The Honourable Giuseppina D’Agostino

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The Honourable François Joyal

Justice François Joyal was born in Repentigny and raised in Montréal. He holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Montréal and was called to the Barreau du Québec in 1993.

Justice Joyal is fluent in French and English. He began his career at O’Reilly & Associates in Montréal, a firm specializing in Indigenous law, where he worked as an articling student and then as an attorney from 1993 to 1999. He then joined the Department of Justice Canada in Montréal, where he practised law for over 25 years, serving as a litigator to the Attorney General of Canada. From 2023 until his appointment, he served as Senior General Counsel. Throughout his career, he became recognized for his expertise in constitutional law, Indigenous law, administrative law, and public international law. He argued several cases before the Supreme Court of Canada on these issues.

Justice Joyal has played an active role in training and mentoring legal professionals, both within the Department of Justice Canada and in the broader legal community, including as an advocacy counsellor with the Supreme Court Advocacy Institute. He has also served on the Barreau du Québec’s Committee for Access to the Profession.

Justice Joyal enjoys hiking, music, and reading. He and his wife are the proud parents of two daughters.

Appointed Judge of the Federal Court, and ex officio member of the Federal Court of Appeal, on April 21, 2026.

Date modified: 2026-04-29

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