Creation and Beginnings of the Court
Current and Former Chief Justices
Current and Former Puisne Judges
About the Court
Judges of the Court
The Honourable Mr. Justice Edmund Leslie Newcombe
![[Photo - Edmund Leslie Newcombe]](/web/20061029064007im_/http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/_images/display/newcombe-tn.jpg)
Edmund Leslie Newcombe was born in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, on February 17,
1859. He was the son of John Cumming Newcombe and Abigail H. Calkin. He received
his B.A. in 1878 and M.A. in 1881 from Dalhousie University, and his LL.B.
in 1881 from the short-lived University of Halifax. Called to the bar of Nova
Scotia the following year, he practised law in Kentville until 1886, when he
moved to Halifax to establish the law firm of Meagher, Drysdale & Newcombe.
He was also appointed Lecturer on Marine Insurance Law at Dalhousie University
in 1892. In 1893 he moved to Ottawa to become Deputy Minister of Justice and
was called to the bar of Ontario. He was Deputy Minister for over 30 years
and frequently pleaded before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in
London, England. In 1914 he acted as counsel for the Government of Canada in
the public inquiry into the sinking of the S.S. Empress of Ireland. He was
appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada on September 16, 1924 and served on
the Court for seven years. Justice Newcombe died on December 9, 1931, at the
age of 72.
