CanLII Launches AI-Powered Canadian Legal Research Assistant
Summary
The Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) has launched CanLII Search+, an AI-powered research assistant designed to make legal research more intuitive and efficient. The tool allows users to ask questions in plain language and provides contextual analysis and relevance scores for case law, legislation, and commentary.
What changed
The Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) has announced the launch of CanLII Search+, a new research assistant that utilizes artificial intelligence to enhance legal research. This tool allows users to input queries in natural language, which are then converted into structured searches across CanLII's corpus of case law, legislation, and commentary. Key features include contextual analysis to extract relevant passages and a relevance score to help prioritize results, aiming to improve the efficiency and accuracy of legal research for legal professionals and the public.
Access to CanLII Search+ is available to users with a free myCanLII account, subject to daily usage limits. The tool is positioned as a support for human expertise rather than a replacement, emphasizing the continued importance of legal analysis and judgment. The development was supported by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada and its 14 member organizations.
What to do next
- Create a myCanLII account to access CanLII Search+
- Familiarize yourself with the natural language search capabilities and features of CanLII Search+
Source document (simplified)
News about, and content from, the Canadian Legal Information Institute
Introducing CanLII Search+!
Today, we are pleased to announce an important milestone in CanLII’s history: the launch of CanLII Search+, our new research assistant powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
Developed to transform the search experience on our website, this tool aims to make access to legal information more intuitive, faster, and more efficient for the entire legal community and the Canadian public.
Simplified natural language search
Traditional legal research often requires navigating through vast databases using complex syntax. CanLII Search+ now simplifies this process by allowing queries to be made in plain language.
You can now ask your questions directly (e.g., “What are the duties of care of a director in Quebec?”). The tool instantly converts your question into a structured query to target the most relevant documents from the case law, legislation, and commentary available on CanLII.
Features designed for accuracy
CanLII Search+ doesn’t just find keywords; it helps prioritize information:
Contextual analysis: The tool analyzes decisions to extract the passages most relevant to your question.
Relevance score: Results are assigned a score to help you quickly identify essential sources.
Reliability and transparency: To ensure accurate results, searches are conducted exclusively within the CanLII document corpus, under the ongoing validation of legal experts.
For more information about the tool, visit the CanLII Search+ page.
A project led by the Canadian legal community
As Francis Barragan, President and CEO of CanLII, points out:
“CanLII Search+ is designed to support human expertise, not replace it. It refocuses primary law at the heart of legal research. This tool puts the power of AI at the service of your analysis and judgment. “
This project would not have been possible without the unwavering support of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada and its 14 members, whose shared vision makes it possible to offer reliable and free legal services across the country:
- Law Society of British Columbia
- Law Society of Alberta
- Law Society of Saskatchewan
- Law Society of Manitoba
- Law Society of Ontario
- Barreau du Québec
- Chambre des notaires du Québec
- Law Society of New Brunswick
- Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society
- Law Society of Prince Edward Island
- Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador
- Law Society of Yukon
- Law Society of the Northwest Territories
- Law Society of Nunavut How do I access Search+?
CanLII Search+ is now available to anyone with a free myCanLII account (subject to a daily usage limit).
If you don’t have an account yet, you can sign up here to start exploring this new way of searching for the law.
Happy searching!
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- 2026-02-25
- chantalsneath
- Posted in Announcements
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