Created in 1875, the Supreme Court of Canada became the court of last resort and the final arbiter of legal disputes when the government abolished the appeals to the Privy Council in London in 1949. Since then the Supreme Court of Canada has shaped the country’s political, social and economic landscape, especially with the advent of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982. Seventeen Chief Justices have presided over the court, sixteen men and one woman. This volume on the Chief Justices examines their lives and career paths, the challenges they faced, and some of the historic decisions rendered on major public issues.