Today, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, announced the appointment of the Honourable Patrick J. Boucher as the new Chief Justice of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

The Honourable Patrick J. Boucher was appointed Regional Senior Judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario for the Northeast Region in 2024, having previously been appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario in 2020.

Before joining the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario, Chief Justice Boucher served as Regional Senior Justice for the Northeast Region at the Ontario Court of Justice. Appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice in 2009, he also served as a local administrative judge, a director of the Association of Ontario Judges, an education chair for the Northeast, and a member of the Chief Justice’s Judicial Pre-trial Best Practices Working Group. After being called to the Bar of Ontario in 1998, Chief Justice Boucher entered private practice, where he developed a broad litigation practice focused primarily on family and criminal law.

Chief Justice Boucher earned a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University in 1993 and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Ottawa in 1996. He was admitted to the Bar of Ontario in 1998.

Chief Justice Boucher was previously Regional Senior Judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario for the Northeast Region. He replaces the Honourable Geoffrey B. Morawetz, who retired effective May 15, 2026.