Prince George was the site of 30 BC Supreme Court trials in 2024, according to the court’s annual report.
Of those, 22 were for criminal cases, six family and two civil. In total, there were 75 trials in the Northern Interior region last year, with Quesnel (10 trials), Williams Lake (nine) and Smithers (eight) being the next busiest.
Province-wide, the BC Supreme Court heard 416 criminal, 285 civil and 162 family trials, which is 863 trials in total.
The report said there had been a significant increase in long or complex cases heard in 2024, 29, up from 19 in 2023.
The high demands reduce resources available for the court’s other business.
“Common features of complex criminal cases include multiple accused persons, serious charges (e.g., murder, organized crime offences, terrorism), extensive evidence (e.g., digital records, wiretap evidence, tracking data, documents and other property seized under judicial authorization), numerous pre-trial applications and voir dire hearings (to determine evidence admissibility), special security measures, and risks of delays,” the report said.
Filings for civil, family and criminal cases totalled 53,587 in 2024.
In 2019, at its peak, there were 69,138 civil cases alone. That changed beginning in 2021 with the provincial government’s switch to the no-fault auto insurance system under ICBC. After April 2023, only exceptional claims could be filed in court, involving drivers charged with certain criminal code offences and non-motorists who contribute to injuries.
Most of BC’s 11 judicial vacancies at the end of 2023 were filled in 2024 when the federal government appointed 17 new judges. That also helped fill vacancies when six Supreme Court judges were promoted to the Court of Appeal. At the end of December, there were three judicial vacancies.
“Despite these appointments, the impact of having been chronically short of the full-time complement continues to affect access to timely and effective justice for all British Columbians,” the report said.
The NDP government’s March provincial budget earmarked $164.06 million for court services during the 2025 fiscal year, up from $156.07 million last year.
