OTTAWA—Supreme Court of Canada Justice Richard Wagner once joked that, as a middle child, “I learned to achieve consensus early.”That sense of humour and pursuit of co-operation plus a clear, persistent campaign by Quebec’s legal and political community that stressed it was the province’s turn may have secured Wagner the plum job of chief justice of Canada.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday he would elevate the Montreal-born Wagner, 60, a former commercial and civil litigator and judge from Quebec’s trial and appeal courts, to replace Beverley McLachlin, who retires Friday after 28 years on the top court, 18 as chief justice.“I have the utmost confidence in his ability to lead the highest court of Canada, an institution with a long and respected history of judicial independence and excellence,” Trudeau said in announcing Wagner’s promotion. “The judiciary, the legal profession and all Canadians will be well served by his dedication to upholding the laws and Constitution upon which this country is founded.”In naming Wagner, Trudeau bypassed one tradition — of appointing the most senior judge on the court, Rosalie Abella — in favour of another: alternating between a common law judge from English-speaking Canada and a Quebec judge trained in civil law. It’s a practice that hasn’t always been followed, including by Trudeau’s own father when he was prime minister.But Quebec’s legal and political community had launched a full-court press to ensure a Quebec judge would replace McLachlin. The Bar of Montreal had written Trudeau and the provincial legislature passed a unanimous resolution supporting a Quebec chief justice, urging him to follow the practice.Justice Jody Wilson-Raybould admitted to reporters that it “certainly was something that the prime minister considered in making this appointment,” but she stressed Wagner’s personal qual ...
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