Supreme Court Creates a New Civil Claim for Intimate Partner Violence

On May 15, 2026, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia, recognizing, for the first time, a standalone common law tort of intimate partner violence.

The facts

Kuldeep and Amrit Ahluwalia were married for sixteen years before separating in 2016. During the marriage, the trial judge found that Mr. Ahluwalia had subjected his then-wife to a sustained pattern of physical and emotional abuse that went well beyond isolated incidents, including conduct that controlled her choices and undermined her autonomy within the relationship. At trial, in addition to family law remedies, the judge recognized a novel tort - which the trial decision called "family violence" - and awarded separate damages for it. The Ontario Court of Appeal upheld liability under existing, established torts like assault, but rejected the idea that a new tort was necessary.

What the Supreme Court decided

Writing for a six-member majority, Justice Kasirer held that existing torts do not adequately capture harm caused by a pattern of coercive and controlling conduct within an intimate relationship, as opposed to discrete, individually assessed acts. The Court set out three elements for the new tort: the conduct must occur during an intimate relationship or after it has ended, the person must have intentionally engaged in the abusive conduct, and the conduct, viewed in context, must amount to coercive control that undermines the other person's dignity, autonomy, and equality within the relationship.

A concurring opinion from Justice Karakatsanis would have gone further, holding the new tort should not be strictly limited to cases where "coercive control" specifically is established. Three justices dissented, arguing existing torts - including assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress - already provide adequate recourse for both individual incidents and broader patterns of abuse, and cautioning that a new tort introduces legal uncertainty.

What it changes for survivors

Before this decision, someone experiencing a pattern of coercive, controlling behaviour without necessarily being able to point to a single, legally distinct incident of assault often had a harder time framing a civil claim. The new tort gives survivors a direct route to sue over the pattern itself - financial control, isolation, intimidation, surveillance, and psychological harm - rather than needing to reconstruct that pattern as a series of individually actionable events. The Court was also careful to note limits: ordinary relationship conflict, infidelity, or a difficult separation does not, on its own, meet the threshold.

What this means practically

This is now the leading authority nationally on how a civil claim for intimate partner violence should be framed, and family and civil litigation lawyers across the country are already adjusting how they advise clients on both bringing and defending these claims. If you are dealing with a situation involving intimate partner violence, a family lawyer can explain how this decision affects the options available to you alongside any family law remedies.