Gérard Vincent La Forest (April 1, 1926 – June 12, 2025) was a Canadian judge who was a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. He served in that capacity from January 16, 1985 to September 30, 1997.
Early life and education
Born in Grand Falls, New Brunswick, to J. Alfred La Forest and Philomène Lajoie, he first studied at St. Francis Xavier University and then went on to study law at the University of New Brunswick, obtaining a BCL in 1949. Following law school he was awarded a Rhodes scholarship and attended St John's College, Oxford receiving a BA in 1951 and an MA in 1956. He then went on to study at Yale University, completing an LL.M in 1965 and an LL.D in 1966. He was called to the Bar of New Brunswick in 1949 and was designated a Queen's Counsel in 1968.
In 1981 he was appointed to the New Brunswick Court of Appeal. Then on January 16, 1985 he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada, staying until September 30, 1997.
Honours, awards and affiliations
In 1975, La Forest was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He was awarded honorary LL.D. degrees from the University of Basel (1981), St. Francis Xavier University (1988), St. Thomas University (1988), University of Alberta (1988), University of Moncton (1988) and Bates College (1990). He was made Doctor of Civil Law by the University of New Brunswick in 1985, the same year he received a D.U. from the University of Ottawa.
In 2000, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada.