Louis LeBel

Who is Louis LeBel?

Louis LeBel is a puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada.

LeBel was born in Quebec City. He was the son of lawyer Paul LeBel, Q.C. He went to school at the Collège des Jésuites, graduating with a BA in 1958 from College des Jesuites. He earned his law degree at Université Laval in 1962 and went on to get an LL.M from the University of Toronto in 1966. He was a top student, winning the Governor General’s medal, the Lieutenant General’s medal and the Tessier silver medal.

He was called to the bar in 1962 and practiced in Quebec City in several firms until 1984. During this period he taught at University of Ottawa and Université Laval.

On June 28, 1984, he was appointed directly to the Quebec Court of Appeal. He stayed on the Court until he was appointed by Jean Chrétien to the Supreme Court in 2000.

He was married to Louise Poudrier, August 28, 1965. His wife was also a lawyer and taught at Laval University until 2000. They had three children: Paul, Catherine and Francois.