Legal Aid Ontario

The Law Foundation of Ontario is required by law to pay 75% of net income earned from lawyer and paralegal mixed trust accounts directly to Legal Aid Ontario.

The Law Foundation of Ontario is required by law to pay 75% of net income earned from lawyer and paralegal mixed trust accounts directly to Legal Aid Ontario. The net income is calculated by deducting operating expenses. Legal Aid Ontario decides how it will use this funding.

The amount that the Foundation transfers to Legal Aid Ontario varies each year, mostly due to changing interest rates. See our annual reports for details.

Legal Aid Ontario was created in 1998 under the Legal Aid Services Act. Its mandate is to ensure that a range of legal services is available to low-income people who meet financial eligibility requirements. Some clients obtain legal aid certificates entitling them to the services of a lawyer. Others may be eligible for services from the independent community legal clinics that Legal Aid Ontario funds.

Funding to Legal Aid Ontario

$40.1M

in 2021

$146.3M

in 2022

$325.4M

in 2023

Revenue & reporting

The Law Foundation of Ontario’s main source of revenue is interest received from lawyers’ and paralegals’ mixed trust accounts. Other sources of revenue are cy-près awards and investment income.

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Annual reports

The Law Foundation of Ontario annual report provides an overview of the year’s activities and it is accompanied by audited financial statements.

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Our work

The Law Foundation of Ontario takes an active and engaging approach to our work in five broad areas to carry out our mandate of advancing access to justice.

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