CanLII Boolean Search Cheatsheet

⚠️ CRITICAL: How to Search Correctly

NEVER add dates, jurisdictions, or court levels in your Boolean search!

Step 1: Create your Boolean search (legal concepts ONLY)
Step 2: Paste into CanLII's Advanced Search
Step 3: Use CanLII's dropdown filters for:
- Jurisdiction (Federal, ON, BC, etc.)
- Date range (use the date pickers)
- Court level (SCC, Court of Appeal, etc.)
- Document type (Cases or Legislation)

This ensures your search works correctly and gives you accurate results!

⚡ Essential Boolean Operators

AND

Both terms must appear in results

OR

Either term can appear

NOT

Exclude documents with this term

"..."

Exact phrase match

*

Wildcard (dismiss* finds dismissal, dismissed)

/p

Terms in same paragraph

/s

Terms in same sentence

/n

Within n words (e.g., /5 = within 5 words)

🎯 Search Examples by Practice Area

Employment Law: ("wrongful dismissal" OR "constructive dismissal") AND damages Then filter by Ontario in CanLII's jurisdiction dropdown

Criminal Law: "reasonable doubt" /p (evidence OR proof) AND NOT appeal

Family Law: (custody OR access) /s "best interests" AND child*

Contract Law: "breach of contract" AND (damages OR remedy) AND consideration

Personal Injury: (negligence OR liability) AND "duty of care" AND (injury OR harm)

💡 Pro Tips for Better Searches

Use quotes around exact phrases: "standard of review"
Include both English & French terms for complete coverage
Start broad with OR, then narrow with AND
Use wildcards for word variations: discriminat* (finds discriminate, discrimination, discriminatory)
Combine proximity operators for precision: "fiduciary duty" /5 breach
Use parentheses to group related concepts: (employer OR company) AND (employee OR worker)
Use CanLII's dropdown filters for jurisdiction, dates, and courts - NEVER add them to your Boolean!

❌ Common Mistakes to Avoid

Too many AND operators (makes search too narrow)
Forgetting quotes around multi-word phrases
Not using wildcards for word variations
Ignoring French language equivalents
Over-using NOT (might exclude relevant cases)
Wrong proximity operator (/s is narrower than /p)
Mixing Boolean and natural language
Adding dates, jurisdictions, or courts in Boolean (use CanLII's filters instead!)

🎯 How to Filter Results (The RIGHT Way)

✅ CORRECT Approach:

Create Boolean: "wrongful dismissal" AND damages
Paste into CanLII Advanced Search
Select "Ontario" from Jurisdiction dropdown
Set date range using date pickers
Choose court level if needed

❌ WRONG Approach:

Don't do this: "wrongful dismissal" AND Ontario AND date:>2020

This breaks CanLII's search and gives incorrect results!