A recent Supreme Court of Canada decision has changed the law for survivors of intimate partner violence. On May 15, 2026, the decision in the case of Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia, 2026 SCC 16 confirmed a new common law tort – the tort of intimate partner violence.

What is the Tort of Intimate Partner Violence?

In the case of Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia, 2026 SCC 16, the judge explains the tort of intimate partner violence in the following paragraphs:

[182] This is not a new label for a collection of existing torts. The new tort of intimate partner violence fills a gap in the common law by properly recognizing that conduct objectively resulting in domination and control of an intimate partner is a qualitatively distinct wrong from those wrongs redressable through existing torts. It is the intimate partnership context that enables the abuser to exert control over their victim. Liability arises because coercive control constitutes an interference with an intimate partner’s autonomy; it is inherently incompatible with an intimate partnership as it renders the partnership unequal and results in dignitary harm, alongside, but distinct from, the physical or psychological harm that can be caused by abuse.

[183] The tort is most appropriately named “intimate partner violence”, a term widely used and understood by courts, academics, and, most importantly, the public. The term “violence”, however, should not be interpreted as limiting the tort to physical or psychological violence; rather, as I have explained, it broadly captures conduct that, because of its coercive effects, is incompatible with the fundamental tenets of dignity, autonomy, and equality inherent in an intimate partnership. The design of this new tort seeks to address the gap in the current law by remedying coercive control of one partner by the other, which has been described as “the most emotionally damaging and often the most physically dangerous type” of intimate partner violence (Bala, Maur and Houston, at p. 69). The focus on coercive control further underscores that this form of abuse is tortious not merely because it arises in intimacy, but because it is a distinct wrong giving rise to a distinct harm.

 

How to Prove the Tort of Intimate Partner Violence?

There are three elements that must be proven:

• the abusive conduct arose in an intimate partnership or its aftermath

 

• the defendant intentionally engaged in that conduct

 

• the conduct, on an objective measure, constitutes coercive control

 

A key point to proving the tort of intimate partner violence is that “The interference with an intimate partner’s dignity, autonomy, and equality itself constitutes the harm experienced by the victim of coercive control”, meaning the harm caused is understood as a result of the coercive conduct.

 

This is a significant shift in the law that recognizes the gap in the current common law torts that did not recognize emotional and financial abuse, among many other types of abuse. This law will open up options for survivors of intimate partner violence for financial recognition of harms during their relationship.

 

Contact us anytime at SMP Law to help SiMPlify your legal matter at 905-565-9494 or email info@smplaw.ca if you have any questions or would like to book an appointment to meet and discuss your situation and how we can help.

 

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