John Sopinka

Who was John Sopinka?

John Sopinka, QC was a Canadian lawyer and puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada, the first Ukrainian-Canadian appointed to the high court.

Sopinka was born in Broderick, Saskatchewan and lived there until his family moved to Hamilton, Ontario. He completed secondary school at Saltfleet High School in Stoney Creek. He earned Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees at the University of Toronto. While studying law, he also played professional football with the Toronto Argonauts and then the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. He was called to the bar of Ontario in 1960 and practiced law at Fasken & Calven before becoming a senior partner at Stikeman Elliott. He was designated Queen's Counsel in 1975 and was also a lecturer at both the Osgoode Hall Law School and the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. He has authored several books on the law, including a leading text on the law of evidence.