Yes No Share to Facebook
Reasonable Foreseeability:
Principles Regarding Whether an Advance Risk of Harm Arising Could Be Recognized
Last Updated: August 31 2026
Question: In a Canadian negligence claim, how do courts determine whether the harm was reasonably foreseeable?
Answer: In a Canadian negligence claim, courts apply an objective reasonable-foresight test focused on what the defendant, in their position, ought to have foreseen before the incident, not using hindsight after the harm occurs. The remoteness inquiry also asks whether the harm is too unrelated to the wrongful conduct to fairly assign liability, and foreseeability generally turns on whether there was a “real risk” that a reasonable person would not brush aside as far-fetched, including evaluating the plaintiff’s type of vulnerability through the “ordinary fortitude” lens for injury outcomes. If you need help applying these principles to your facts, reach Wennekers.Legal™ for professional legal services at (647) 701-1162 to discuss next steps and potential liability.
Add this website to Google Preferred Sources
Understanding Foreseeability Principles
The principle of reasonable foreseeability applies within negligence law. To simplify, reasonable foreseeability involves the awareness of risk of harm that might arise from a specific behavior. As the basics of negligence law involve the question of what a reasonably minded person would do in a given situation, it is necessary to review what a reasonably minded person might foresee as a potential risk arising from the specific behaviour that is being challenged as unreasonable.
Note: Please contact Wennekers.Legal™ by phone at: (647) 701-1162 to discuss any specific questions that you may have.
The Law
The concept of reasonable foreseeability was explained by the Supreme Court within the cases of Rankin (Rankin’s Garage & Sales) v. J.J., [2018] 1 S.C.R. 587, and Mustapha v. Culligan of Canada Ltd., [2008] 2 S.C.R. 114, as follows:
[53] Whether or not something is “reasonably foreseeable” is an objective test. The analysis is focussed on whether someone in the defendant’s position ought reasonably to have foreseen the harm rather than whether the specific defendant did. Courts should be vigilant in ensuring that the analysis is not clouded by the fact that the event in question actually did occur. The question is properly focussed on whether foreseeability was present prior to the incident occurring and not with the aid of 20/20 hindsight: L. N. Klar and C.S.G. Jefferies, Tort Law (6th ed. 2017), at p. 212.
[12] The remoteness inquiry asks whether “the harm [is] too unrelated to the wrongful conduct to hold the defendant fairly liable” (Linden and Feldthusen, at p. 360). Since The Wagon Mound (No. 1), the principle has been that “it is the foresight of the reasonable man which alone can determine responsibility” (Overseas Tankship (U.K.) Ltd. v. Morts Dock & Engineering Co., [1961] A.C. 388 (P.C.), at p. 424).
[13] Much has been written on how probable or likely a harm needs to be in order to be considered reasonably foreseeable. The parties raise the question of whether a reasonably foreseeable harm is one whose occurrence is probable or merely possible. In my view, these terms are misleading. Any harm which has actually occurred is “possible”; it is therefore clear that possibility alone does not provide a meaningful standard for the application of reasonable foreseeability. The degree of probability that would satisfy the reasonable foreseeability requirement was described in The Wagon Mound (No. 2) as a “real risk”, i.e. “one which would occur to the mind of a reasonable man in the position of the defendan[t] . . . and which he would not brush aside as far-fetched” (Overseas Tankship (U.K.) Ltd. v. Miller Steamship Co. Pty., [1967] A.C. 617 (P.C.), at p. 643).
[14] The remoteness inquiry depends not only upon the degree of probability required to meet the reasonable foreseeability requirement, but also upon whether or not the plaintiff is considered objectively or subjectively. One of the questions that arose in this case was whether, in judging whether the personal injury was foreseeable, one looks at a person of “ordinary fortitude” or at a particular plaintiff with his or her particular vulnerabilities. This question may be acute in claims for mental injury, since there is a wide variation in how particular people respond to particular stressors. The law has consistently held — albeit within the duty of care analysis — that the question is what a person of ordinary fortitude would suffer: see White v. Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police, [1998] 3 W.L.R. 1509 (H.L.); Devji v. Burnaby (District) (1999), 180 D.L.R. (4th) 205, 1999 BCCA 599; Vanek. As stated in White, at p. 1512: “The law expects reasonable fortitude and robustness of its citizens and will not impose liability for the exceptional frailty of certain individuals.”
The Rankin and Mustapha cases describe the foreseeability question as relating to whether an individual could sensibly foresee that certain behavior might culminate in the occurrence of harm to another person. Moreover, according to the principles established in Rankin and Mustapha, when evaluating whether harm was foreseeable, a court should approach the situation from the perspective of foresight before the incident occurred rather than in hindsight after the incident occurred.
Conclusion
Negligence law involves the review of whether a person acted carelessly and should be held liable for harm caused through such carelessness to another person. As part of the question of whether conduct was careless, the question arises as to whether the resulting harm was foreseeable. Negligence fails to arise if harm from the conduct in question was reasonably unforeseeable.
NOTE: A substantial amount of online searches for “lawyers near me” or “best lawyer in” typically indicate a demand for swift and effective legal assistance as opposed to a particular professional designation. In Ontario, the same Law Society that governs lawyers also regulates licensed paralegals, granting them the authority to represent clients in specific litigation cases. Central to this role are advocacy, legal analysis, and procedural expertise. Wennekers.Legal™ provides legal support within its licensed framework, focusing on strategic positioning, evidence preparation, and compelling advocacy aimed at securing efficient and advantageous outcomes for clients.
