The Honourable Jolaine Antonio, a judge of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench, is appointed a judge of the Alberta Court of Appeal in Calgary. She replaces Justice S. Martin who was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada effective December 18, 2017. Justice Antonio is also appointed a judge of the Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories and the Court of Appeal of Nunavut.
Madam Justice Antonio received a Bachelor of Science with Distinction (Astrophysics) from the University of Calgary in 1991, a Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie University in 1994, along with awards in constitutional law and legal writing. In 2015, she received the Women in Law Leadership Award. She was appointed to the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench in 2016.
Madam Justice Antonio served as Crown Prosecutor with Justice Alberta (1997 – 2002), Counsel and Crown Prosecutor with the Department of Justice Canada (1995 – 1997) and 2002 – 2005), Crown Counsel with Public Prosecution Services of Canada (2005 – 2008) and Appellant Counsel with Alberta Justice in Calgary (2008 – 2016).
Throughout her legal career, Justice Antonio appeared before administrative tribunals, the trial courts of Nova Scotia, Alberta, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories, the Tax Court of Canada, and the trial and appellant divisions of the Federal Court. She gained extensive experience as appellant counsel having made dozens of appearances in the Supreme Court of Canada and countless appearances in Alberta Court of Appeal.
As a practicing lawyer, Justice Antonio’s greatest expertise was in the field of criminal law and related topics, but also worked in administrative law, tax law and civil litigation. As a justice, she has presided over cases in all areas under the Court’s jurisdiction.
At the invitation of organizations including the National Judicial Institute, the National Criminal Law Program, the University of Calgary, the Canadian Bar Association, the Legal Education Society of Alberta, and the prosecution services of Alberta and Canada, Justice Antonio has spoken widely on advocacy skills and substantive law.