Five Years Later: Did Vavilov Kill Deference? Findings from the Ontario Divisional Court

In the 2019 decision Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov, the Supreme Court of Canada attempted to provide greater clarity on the legal foundations and application of administrative law in Canada. This article presents new empirical data on the impact of Vavilov on decisions of the Ontario Divisional Court and considers what the results mean for practices of democracy, accountability, and the rule of law. The findings in this article reveal that Vavilov has had a significant judicial impact on Ontario Courts’ deference toward the decisions of administrative decision-makers, but that the lower standard of review associated with reasonableness creates the potential for arbitrary decisions and the abuse of state power for overtly partisan purposes.