Alberta Court of King’s Bench puts civil litigation on the clock

Alberta’s civil litigation landscape is undergoing a significant shift in an attempt to address increasing costs and delays. On July 10, 2025, the Court of King’s Bench announced new measures aimed at reducing trial delay in non-family civil matters. These include:

• A new requirement starting September 1, 2025, for mandatory litigation plans  to be filed within four months from the service of the first Statement of Defence; and
  
• The introduction of a Civil Trial Target, which sets a general expectation that matters will resolve or proceed to trial within 36 months from the service of the first Statement of Defence.

These changes represent a meaningful shift in how civil cases will be managed in Alberta. While rooted in longstanding principles under Rule 1.2 of the Alberta Rules of Court, which promotes timely and cost-effective resolution, these new requirements formalize timelines that courts and litigants alike will be expected to follow.

The Court announcement pointedly states that “actions shall no longer move through the system at a self-directed, voluntary pace chosen by one or more of the parties” and encourages parties to make arrangements to accommodate agreed upon schedules including employing “back-up counsel” if needed to meet deadlines.

Mandatory litigation plans

This means that parties to a civil action must work with each other to agree on a Litigation Plan that sets out deadlines for all steps to be taken in the proceeding. This requirement applies to all actions commenced by way of Statement of Claim on or after September 1, 2025, regardless of whether they are formally categorized as complex under Rule 4.5 of the Rules of Court.

The Court has published a template Litigation Plan that requires parties to agree to timelines using the filing of the first statement of defence in the action as the “Trigger Date” for each subsequent deadline. The steps set out in the Litigation Plan include: 

• Exchange of third-party pleadings to be completed within eight months of the Trigger Date;
  
• Disclosure of records to be completed within 10 months of the Trigger Date;
  
• Disclosure of witness lists, not currently a requirement under the Rules of Court, to be completed within 12 months of the Trigger Date;
  
• Completing of initial questioning of witnesses adverse in interest 25 months of the Trigger Date;
  
• Answers to undertakings exchanged within two months after the date the undertakings were given;
  
• Completion of questioning on undertakings within 27 months of the Trigger Date;
  
• Exchange of expert reports by 33 months from the Trigger Date;
  
• Participation in an alternative dispute resolution process as soon as reasonably possible, but no later than 33 months from the Trigger Date;
  
• Interlocutory applications to be made “in a timely manner” so as not to interfere with the litigation plan;
• Application for trial dates not later than 22 months after the Trigger Date; and
  
• Trial scheduled to commence not later than 36 months from the Trigger Date.

If no agreement is reached on the litigation plan within four months of the Trigger Date, the parties are expected to bring an application before an Applications Judge to finalize the litigation plan.

A new civil trial target: Three years

Alongside the new litigation plan requirement, the Court has introduced a Civil Trial Target, an expectation that non-family civil actions will either resolve or be ready to proceed to trial within three years from the service of the first Statement of Defence. It is intended as a clear backstop for how long actions should take to move through the system.

To help achieve this, the Court continues to promote its earlier pilot project on setting trial dates by order, introduced in April 2024. That process allows parties to bypass the typical readiness certification under Rule 8.4(3) and instead schedule trial dates earlier through an application under Rule 8.5. This initiative builds on recent procedural reforms, including the introduction of the streamlined trial process in January 2024, which replaced the former summary trial rules to promote more efficient resolution of appropriate cases.

In practice: Proactive case management

These changes to the civil litigation landscape mean that clients and counsel should plan ahead to ensure that a reasonable timeframe can be achieved for all steps taken in the litigation. The introduction of the Civil Trial Target and mandatory litigation plans signals the Court’s expectation that parties take deliberate steps to move their actions forward, with a clear focus on planning toward resolution. The Court also made a point to note Rule 10.49 of the Alberta Rules of Court allows for penalties where a party or lawyer fails to comply with court directions or deadlines without adequate excuse.

Alberta’s moves also align with national trends. Ontario, for example, is considering proposed rule amendments that would target trial within two years of filing. These developments reflect a growing recognition across Canadian courts that delay and procedural inefficiencies remain significant barriers to access to justice.

For more information, please contact the authors, Kelly Osaka and Christy Lee. Thank you to Joice El Mehallawy, a summer student based in Calgary, for all of her assistance with this blog post.