This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the law of causation, including a review of the case law beginning with the House of the Lords and concluding with the Supreme Court of Canada trilogy of Snell v. Farrell, Athey v. Leonati, and Hanke v. Resurfice. The author then considers the application of the SCC articulated principles in recent Alberta and B.C. cases and draws conclusions about the state of the law.

This paper was drawn from materials presented at the Personal Injury and Insurance Update program held in May 2012.