Quebec jurist Richard Wagner has been named the next chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.
At 60 years old, Wagner is the senior Quebec judge on the bench. He was nominated to the high court in 2012 by former prime minister Stephen Harper.
Quebec jurist Richard Wagner has been named the next chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. (Supreme Court of Canada)
Before his judicial appointment, he had a commercial litigation practice focusing on real estate and professional liability insurance.
Wagner will take the oath of office on Dec. 18.
Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould was scheduled to speak to reporters in Ottawa at 10 a.m. ET, and CBCNews.ca will carry it live.
Wagner replaces Beverley McLachlin, who retires on Friday after 17 years in the post.
Last month Prime Minister Justin Trudeau nominated Alberta-based judge Sheilah Martin to fill the western vacancy left by McLachlin's retirement.
There has been a tradition of alternating between jurists trained in common law and those under Quebec's civil law, though there have been exceptions in past.
Last year, the Liberal government brought in a new Supreme Court appointment process to encourage more openness, transparency and diversity, which also requires high court justices to be functionally bilingual.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin received a standing ovation Thursday after hearing arguments on the New Brunswick cross-border beer case of Gerard Comeau. (CBC)
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