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April 23, 2026 – Ottawa, Ontario – Department of Justice Canada
The Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, today announced the following appointment under the judicial application process established in 2016. This process emphasizes transparency, merit, and the diversity of the Canadian population, and will continue to ensure the appointment of jurists who meet the highest standards of excellence and integrity.
Eric M. Adams, Professor of Law at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, is appointed a Justice of the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta in Edmonton. Justice Adams replaces Justice B.L. Bokenfohr (Edmonton), who resigned effective January 30, 2026.
Quote
“I wish Justice Adams every success as he takes on his new role. I am confident he will serve the people of Alberta well as a member of the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta.”
— The Hon. Sean Fraser, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Biography
Justice Eric M. Adams was born and raised in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He earned his Joint Honours Bachelor of Arts from McGill University and received his law degree from Dalhousie Law School before being called to the bar in Ontario in 2002. He began his legal career practicing civil litigation at Paliare Roland LLP in Toronto. He received an SJD from the University of Toronto in 2009. Throughout his academic career, he continued to provide legal advice to public and private parties, especially on complex constitutional matters. He was called to the Alberta bar in 2021.
Justice Adams served as Professor of Law at the University of Alberta, Faculty of Law in Edmonton, where he had taught Constitutional Law, Advanced Constitutional Law and Employment Law since 2007. He held many leadership roles during his academic career, including three years as Vice Dean.
A national expert in Canadian Constitutional Law and Canadian Legal History, Justice Adams has authored nearly forty articles and book chapters, as well as the book, with the historian Jordan Stanger-Ross, Challenging Exile: Japanese Canadians and the Wartime Constitution. He has won multiple awards for his teaching and research, including a Distinguished Service Award for Service to Legal Scholarship from the Canadian Bar Association – Alberta Branch and the Law Society of Alberta, the Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal for services to advanced education, and the Canadian Association of Law Teachers Academic Excellence Award.
Justice Adams has a passion for hockey, the outdoors, and the Saturday crossword, but his greatest joy is time with his family.
