Ontario remains a reliable and creditor-friendly jurisdiction for recognizing and enforcing foreign court judgments—including those from the United States. But foreign judgment creditors need to act quickly: Ontario imposes a strict two-year limitation period to bring an enforcement action. Missing this deadline can mean losing the ability to collect entirely.
Ontario’s Limitations Act, 2002 sets out a general two-year deadline to bring most civil claims, including the enforcement of foreign judgments. That period begins when the judgment creditor “knew or ought to have known” that enforcement was possible in Ontario.
The Ontario Court of Appeal confirmed in Independence Plaza 1 Associates, L.L.C. v. Figliolini, 2017 ONCA 44, that the limitation period begins when the foreign judgment becomes final—meaning the time for appeal has expired, or any appeal has been decided. In practical terms, this is often the date when the creditor is legally entitled to enforce the judgment in its original jurisdiction.
In Sunlight General Capital LLC v. Effisolar Energy Corporation, 2023 ONSC 3537, the Ontario Superior Court reaffirmed this principle. A U.S. creditor sought to enforce a New York judgment in Ontario. The debtor argued the claim was out of time. The court disagreed, holding that the two-year clock only started when the New York appeal was dismissed—and that the creditor’s Ontario claim was still within time.
For U.S. and international businesses with winning judgments against Ontario-based defendants—or defendants with assets in Ontario—Canadian courts are generally obligated to recognize and enforce the judgment without re-litigating the merits, absent the basic impeachment defenses of natural justice, fraud, and public policy. But delay is fatal. Waiting more than two years from final judgment can prevent enforcement, no matter how strong the underlying claim.
If a client has won a foreign judgment and the debtor has assets in Ontario, it is critical to act promptly and retain Canadian counsel with cross-border enforcement experience.