PM Carney names Alan Diner as new Federal Court chief justice

A sign for Federal Court is pictured in Ottawa on Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA — Justice Alan Diner is the new Federal Court chief justice, replacing Paul Crampton who retired at the end of October.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Diner’s appointment in a news release Monday.

The new chief justice takes on a leadership role as a growing case backlog, primarily driven by immigration issues, strains court resources.

About 6,400 immigration cases were brought to Federal Court in 2020, a figure in line with the trend over the previous decade. The caseload spiked sharply in 2021, when 9,700 cases were sent to the court.

More than 28,000 cases were filed with the court last year, the vast majority of the almost 33,000 cases launched in the court in 2025.

More than 6,600 immigration proceedings began in the first quarter of 2026. Just under 8,000 proceedings began in that time period in the entire Federal Court.

Diner was named a Federal Court judge in June 2014 and he specialized in immigration law in Ontario before he was called to the bench.

Diner practised immigration and administrative law with firms in both Toronto and Ottawa in his private practice career and received a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his pro bono and community service work.

Diner later worked for the government of Ontario and played a crucial role in launching the province’s immigrant nominee program.


This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2026.

David Baxter, The Canadian Press