WILLIAM HOURIGAN: A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY​

The Honourable William Hourigan began his legal journey as an articling student at Faskens and advanced to become the Chair of the firm’s Litigation Department. His practice was restricted to complex commercial litigation, with a focus on shareholder disputes, directors’ and officers’ liability, class actions, commercial arbitrations, contract disputes, insurance coverage, product liability, securities litigation and crisis management. Mr. Hourigan has also held various positions in government, including Chief of Staff to the Attorney General of Ontario, Chief Legal Counsel and Director of Issues Management for the Premier of Ontario, and Federal Budget Director, responsible for creating the federal budget for the Government of Canada.

In January 2009, Mr. Hourigan was appointed a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Assigned to the Central West Region, he presided over jury and non-jury trials and proceedings in civil, criminal, and family cases in the busiest court jurisdiction in Canada. He regularly conducted pre-trials and settlement conferences in civil claims and developed an ability to settle complex claims to reduce the court’s backlog. While serving on the Superior Court, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Superior Court Judges’ Association. 

In 2013, Mr. Hourigan was appointed to the Court of Appeal for Ontario. As an Appeal Justice, he wrote leading judgments on civil litigation topics, including directors’ and officers’ fiduciary duties, securities litigation, class actions, bankruptcy and insolvency, Competition Act claims, corporate environmental liability, and insurance claims. He also served on the Ontario Civil Rules Committee.  

Mr. Hourigan continued his commitment to public service beyond his duties on the court. In 2021, he was appointed by the Ontario Minister of Transportation as the Commissioner of a Public Inquiry investigating the commercial and technical causes of derailments and breakdowns of the Ottawa Light Rail Transit system. The Inquiry included over one hundred witness interviews, publicly broadcast hearings, community meetings, and an expert panel. One year later, he released a detailed report to the Government of Ontario, which included 103 recommendations to address the issues with the Ottawa LRT and ensure they do not recur in other major infrastructure projects. He recently completed an investigation under the Police Act for the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services for Alberta regarding the interactions between the City of Edmonton, the Edmonton Police Service, and the Edmonton Police Commission. That investigation generated recommendations regarding civilian oversight of police services.

 
Mr. Hourigan is a graduate with distinction from McGill University and from Osgoode Hall Law School. In 2025, he was awarded Osgoode Hall’s Alumni Association's Lifetime Achievement Award.