In a 6-3 split decision, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) partially allowed the appeal in the case of Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia.
Background
The parties in the case, Ms. Ahluwalia and Mr. Ahluwalia, had been married for 16 years. Throughout their marriage, Ms. Ahluwalia was subject to various forms of abuse (including physical, emotional, and financial abuse), that was done to coerce and control her and ultimately restricted her ability to freely make decisions in the relationship.
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice recognized a new tort of family violence for Mr. Ahluwalia’s conduct, awarding Ms. Ahluwalia compensatory, aggravated and punitive damages. A decision which was later overturned at the Ontario Court of Appeal, where they rejected this new tort of family violence, and found existing torts were sufficient in addressing Mr. Ahluwalia’s conduct.
The SCC’s Decision
The issue before the SCC was whether to recognize a new tort of family violence, or if existing torts were sufficient in addressing such conduct.
They did not recognize a new tort of family violence, finding this tort would too broadly impose liability on family members. Instead, the SCC recognized a new tort of intimate partner violence.
Justice Kasirer (for the majority in the SCC decision) concluded that existing torts (like assault or battery) failed to fully address the unique harms experienced by survivors of intimate partner violence. Specifically, survivors of intimate partner violence are subject to coercive control resulting from a “fundamental breach of the trust intrinsic” to such relationships. In this context, a survivor’s autonomy and dignity are uniquely undermined.
Justice Kasirer described intimate partner violence as being a “pernicious social ill” requiring this new tort to fully compensate survivors of these distinct harms. This new tort broadly recognizes the following conduct:
- Acts of physical and psychological violence;
- Tactics of isolation;
- Manipulation;
- Humiliation;
- Surveillance;
- Economic abuse;
- Sexual coercion; and
- Intimidation.
To be successful in bringing a claim for this new tort, a person must show:
- The wrongful conduct happened during an intimate relationship, or after it ended;
- That the other person intentionally engaged in abusive conduct; and
- That the conduct amounted to coercive control when viewed in context of the specific case.
Significance of this Decision
By recognizing a new tort in intimate partner violence, it allows the court to consider a pattern of behavior which accumulates in the survivors autonomy and dignity being undermined.
This decision also opens the scope of harms survivors can bring forward, beyond physical and psychological violence which are typically covered by separate existing torts.
Finally, by recognizing and defining the unique relationship of intimate partner violence, the court further validates the breadth of harm experienced by survivors in these situations, and looks to fully compensate them.
Additional sources
To read the full decision, visit this link: https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/21505/index.do
To read the Case in Brief from of the decision from the SCC, please visit this link: https://www.scc-csc.ca/judgments-jugements/cb/2026/41061/