Sheilah Martin

Sheilah L. Martin (born May 31, 1956) is a retired Canadian jurist, who served as a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada from 2017 to 2026. She was nominated to the court by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on November 29, 2017. Before her appointment to Canada's highest court, Martin had served on the Court of Appeal of Alberta, the Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories, and the Court of Appeal of Nunavut since 2016, and the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta from 2005 to 2016.

Early life and education Martin was born and raised in Montreal. She then moved to Alberta to pursue her career. Martin earned her Doctorate of Juridical Science from the University of Toronto in 1991. and R v Shearing, as well as for the Alberta Association of Sexual Assault Centres in R v Mills.

Over the years, Martin has received numerous awards, including the Distinguished Service Award for Legal Scholarship, the Law Society of Alberta’s Certificate of Merit, and the YWCA’s Advancement of Women Award.

Court of King’s Bench and Court of Appeal of Alberta In 2005, Martin was appointed as judge to the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta in Calgary. Since 2009, she had also served as a deputy judge for the Supreme Court of Yukon.

In June 2016, Martin was appointed by Prime Minister Trudeau to the Court of Appeal of Alberta, the Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories, and the Court of Appeal of Nunavut. In January 2026, Martin announced that she would step down from the bench effective May 30.

Personal life Martin was married to Hersh Wolch, a defence lawyer she met at a law conference, from 2000 until his death in 2017.