Public data
Ontario paperwork in numbers. From public records only.
We could not find a public count of the affidavits and declarations sworn in Ontario each year. So we gathered the closest public statistics: Superior Court of Justice caseloads, probate applications, family sponsorship and passports. Every figure comes from a court, a government or Google Trends, with its source and its limits. None comes from our own files.
- Figures in the dataset
- 259
- Publishers
- 6
- Sources last read
- November 5, 2026
What the numbers show
Seven findings, each with its source.
The Ministry of the Attorney General says Ontario’s courts process over 2.8 million court documents a year. These are the cases and applications behind some of that paper.
01
53.7%
of Superior Court events, by video
The Superior Court heard more by video than in every other way combined.
Of 310,644 events in 2024, 166,884 were by video, 73,983 in writing and 57,953 in person. Trials are the exception: most were in person.
02
99.4%
of uncontested divorce events, in writing
An uncontested divorce is a paper process.
24,364 of 24,519 uncontested divorce events in 2024 were dealt with in writing. The Family Law Rules call for an affidavit in Form 36 carrying the information the court needs to grant the divorce, so that sworn document is part of what the judge reads.
03
71.5%
of Superior Court documents, through Justice Services Online
Seven in ten Superior Court documents went through the online portal.
The court processed 2,475,480 documents in 2024, counting those filed with it and those it issued. 1,770,758 went through Justice Services Online and 704,722 in person, by mail or by email.
04
Over 42,000
estate probate applications, 2025–2026
Probate applications are counted outside the civil table.
The Court Services Division reports over 42,000 estate probate applications processed in 2025–2026. The Superior Court’s civil table leaves uncontested estates out and lists 3,263 new wills and estates proceedings for 2024, so the two numbers measure different things.
Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, Court Services Division(opens in a new tab)See the table
05
50%
of Canada’s sponsored spouses and partners, in Ontario
About half of Canada’s sponsored spouses and partners now come to Ontario.
Ontario’s share was about 43% in 2015. The Ontario count peaked at about 39,900 in 2023 and was about 32,700 in 2025, still above about 30,700 in 2019.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada(opens in a new tab)See the table
06
3,890,257
passports issued, April 2025 to March 2026
Passport issuance dropped after 2024–2025 and is up so far in 2026–2027.
A federal audit puts 2024–2025 at about 4.9 million, and the two publications may not count exactly the same passports. In the program’s own table, April to September 2026 ran 14.9% above the same months of 2025. These are Canada-wide figures, since the program publishes no provincial split.
Government of Canada, Passport Program(opens in a new tab)See the table
07
6 to 1
“notary public” over “commissioner of oaths”
Ontarians search “notary public” about six times as often as “commissioner of oaths”.
Over five years, Google’s index averaged 58 for “notary public” and 10 for “commissioner of oaths”. “Online notary” is small but rising, from 0.7 in 2022 to 6.5 so far in 2026.
Superior Court of Justice, 2024
Superior Court of Justice statistics: video, paper, in person.
An event is one appearance before the court, and each day of a longer matter counts on its own. The court notes that hybrid events are not reliably captured, and that it cannot confirm the accuracy of these figures, which staff enter.
- Video166,884 53.7%
- In writing73,983 23.8%
- In person57,953 18.7%
- Hybrid8,133 2.6%
- Telephone3,691 1.2%
All events: 310,644. Percentages are our arithmetic.
The ten most frequent kinds of event
Motions split between writing and video. Most trials stay in the courtroom. Uncontested divorce stays on paper.
| Event | Video | In writing | In person | All modes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Motion | 35,205 | 40,686 | 8,887 | 87,023 |
| Settlement conference | 23,438 | 21 | 6,697 | 31,153 |
| Trial | 3,730 | 1,224 | 18,298 | 24,929 |
| Uncontested divorce | 93 | 24,364 | 53 | 24,519 |
| Trial scheduling, assignment court | 20,462 | 44 | 672 | 21,910 |
| Case conference | 12,770 | 106 | 6,755 | 21,108 |
| To be spoken to | 10,318 | 47 | 1,575 | 12,444 |
| Pre-trial | 9,093 | 8 | 731 | 10,630 |
| Application hearing | 8,453 | 664 | 893 | 10,590 |
| Protection or status review hearing | 4,881 | 3 | 183 | 5,254 |
Hybrid and telephone counts are in the CSV, so rows do not add up across.
The caseload
New proceedings and probate applications.
The Court Services Division gives the whole-system picture in round numbers. The Superior Court’s tables give the detail, by region and by type, for one court.
- Court documents processed (annually)
- Over 2.8 million
- Estate probate applications processed (2025–2026)
- Over 42,000
- Family matters taken in (annually)
- More than 46,000
- Civil matters taken in, including small claims (annually)
- More than 110,000
- Criminal matters taken in (annually)
- More than 200,000
The earlier report put probate at 30,000 a year. Neither report explains the gap, so we do not read it as a growth rate.
2025–2026 report(opens in a new tab)2024–2025 report(opens in a new tab)
New Superior Court proceedings by region, 2024
| Region | Civil | Family | Small claims | Criminal | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central East | 13,433 | 8,339 | 12,514 | 1,036 | 35,322 |
| Central South | 9,113 | 6,265 | 8,026 | 986 | 24,390 |
| Central West | 12,637 | 5,467 | 12,357 | 1,356 | 31,817 |
| East | 6,713 | 6,206 | 7,136 | 1,086 | 21,141 |
| Northeast | 2,060 | 1,249 | 2,510 | 1,094 | 6,913 |
| Northwest | 680 | 449 | 756 | 728 | 2,613 |
| Southwest | 6,963 | 4,071 | 6,274 | 1,642 | 18,950 |
| Toronto | 23,962 | 7,059 | 12,615 | 3,356 | 46,992 |
| Ontario | 75,561 | 39,105 | 62,188 | 11,284 | 188,138 |
The East region includes Ottawa, Kingston and Belleville, and Central East includes Oshawa and Barrie. The court’s location list (opens in a new tab) has every courthouse.
Documents processed, by region, 2024
Documents filed with the court or issued by it.
| Region | Justice Services Online | In person, mail, email | Total | Online share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central East | 335,904 | 166,648 | 502,552 | 66.8% |
| Central South | 266,412 | 77,235 | 343,647 | 77.5% |
| Central West | 294,627 | 101,424 | 396,051 | 74.4% |
| East | 185,366 | 105,882 | 291,248 | 63.6% |
| Northeast | 53,718 | 28,136 | 81,854 | 65.6% |
| Northwest | 17,139 | 9,378 | 26,517 | 64.6% |
| Southwest | 186,559 | 64,501 | 251,060 | 74.3% |
| Toronto | 431,033 | 151,518 | 582,551 | 74.0% |
| Ontario | 1,770,758 | 704,722 | 2,475,480 | 71.5% |
New family proceedings, by type
39,105 in all. 66% under the Divorce Act.
- Divorce Act25,805
- Children’s Law Reform Act / Family Law Act10,287
- Child, Youth and Family Services Act (excludes adoption)1,932
- Adoption (Child, Youth and Family Services Act)493
- Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act338
- Other177
- Appeal73
New civil proceedings, the largest types
75,561 in all. Every type is in the CSV.
- Motor vehicle accident15,933
- Mortgage or charge11,177
- Collection of liquidated debt8,377
- Contract law8,305
- Tort: personal injury (other than from motor vehicle accident)6,711
- Employment or labour law4,674
Family sponsorship
Family sponsorship in Ontario, by year.
New permanent residents by year, from IRCC’s monthly open data. In the first eight months of 2026, Ontario’s count of sponsored spouses and partners was about 21,600.
IRCC rounds each monthly value to the nearest 5, so these are our sums and they are approximate. They count admissions by province, not who stayed. The share of Canada is our arithmetic.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada(opens in a new tab)
| Year | Spouses and partners | Share of Canada | Parents, grandparents | All categories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 19,790 | 43% | 8,170 | 103,480 |
| 2016 | 24,200 | 43% | 9,075 | 109,845 |
| 2017 | 24,630 | 42% | 10,530 | 111,975 |
| 2018 | 27,585 | 44% | 8,530 | 137,410 |
| 2019 | 30,725 | 48% | 9,825 | 153,320 |
| 2020 | 16,005 | 44% | 4,990 | 82,875 |
| 2021 | 28,970 | 45% | 5,435 | 199,265 |
| 2022 | 30,795 | 48% | 13,290 | 184,940 |
| 2023 | 39,870 | 53% | 13,350 | 206,780 |
| 2024 | 37,070 | 51% | 12,845 | 205,835 |
| 2025 | 32,705 | 50% | 10,940 | 169,660 |
| 2026, Jan to Aug | 21,555 | 49% | 4,690 | 117,825 |
Passports
Canadian passports issued.
The program counts passports issued to Canadians living in Canada and the United States, and says some figures may be updated later.
- April 2024 to March 2025
- About 4.9 million
- April 2025 to March 2026
- 3,890,257
- April to September 2025
- 1,798,058
- April to September 2026
- 2,065,761
Passport program statistics(opens in a new tab)Audit of Passport Service Delivery(opens in a new tab)
Search interest
Notary public vs commissioner of oaths in Google searches.
Google Trends is an index from 0 to 100, relative to the busiest week in the chart. It compares terms with each other and is not a number of searches. Google samples, so a later reading can differ slightly.
The two are not the same office. Our notary or commissioner quiz explains the difference.
| Period | notary public | commissioner of oaths | online notary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 63.1 | 10.8 | 0.7 |
| 2023 | 58.6 | 10.8 | 1.6 |
| 2024 | 52.0 | 10.3 | 0.9 |
| 2025 | 52.1 | 9.8 | 1.9 |
| 2026, to November 1 | 63.8 | 9.2 | 6.5 |
Averages of Google’s weekly values for Ontario, web search, read November 5, 2026.
From the count to the form
The sworn form behind each number.
A count of cases is not a count of forms. Some cases use several of these and many use none. This is only where the paperwork and the numbers meet.
Is your document one that can be sworn by video? Check it here.
24,519 uncontested divorce events, 2024
Form 36: Affidavit for Divorce
Sworn evidence for an uncontested divorce, filed with the draft divorce order.
10,287 new Children’s Law Reform Act or Family Law Act proceedings, 2024
Form 35.1: Affidavit (decision-making responsibility, parenting time, contact)
The sworn parenting affidavit of a person asking for decision-making responsibility, parenting time or contact.
Over 42,000 estate probate applications, 2025–2026
Form 74A: Application for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee
The probate application, with or without a will; the proposed estate trustee swears it.
62,188 new Small Claims Court proceedings, 2024
Form 8A: Affidavit of Service
Proof that you served a Small Claims Court document: who you served, how and when.
about 32,700 sponsored spouses and partners in Ontario, 2025
IMM 5409: Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union
The declaration used in some IRCC applications, in which both partners state how long they have lived together. IRCC’s figures do not separate spouses from common-law partners.
3,890,257 passports issued, April 2025 to March 2026
PPTC 132: Statutory Declaration in Lieu of Guarantor
Only for an applicant who cannot find an eligible guarantor, so it touches a small part of this count. The program supplies the form on request.
Use the data
Download it, cite it, check it.
One CSV with 259 rows, one figure per row, each with its publisher and URL.
To cite this page
Minute Notary, “Ontario paperwork in numbers”, https://minutenotary.ca/ontario-paperwork-in-numbers, sources read November 5, 2026. Please name the original publisher of any figure you quote.
Sources and their limits
Superior Court of Justice
Provincial overview court data(opens in a new tab)
January to December 2024, the latest year published. Entered by Ministry of the Attorney General staff; the Court says it cannot confirm accuracy or reliability. An event is one appearance before the Court, and each day of a multi-day matter counts separately. The Court says hybrid events are not reliably captured. Family Mandatory Information Program and First Appearance Court events, and small claims Request for a Clerk’s Order events, are left out of the event counts. Documents processed include all documents filed with, or issued by, the Court.
Superior Court of Justice
Family court data(opens in a new tab)
January to December 2024, the latest year published. Entered by Ministry of the Attorney General staff; the Court says it cannot confirm accuracy or reliability. New proceedings include motions to change a final order and exclude enforcement proceedings and fee waiver requests.
Superior Court of Justice
Civil court data(opens in a new tab)
January to December 2024, the latest year published. Entered by Ministry of the Attorney General staff; the Court says it cannot confirm accuracy or reliability. Excludes Divisional Court and uncontested estate matters, solicitor and client assessments, and fee waiver requests. Proceeding types come from the party’s own selection on Form 14F.
Superior Court of Justice
Small claims court data(opens in a new tab)
January to December 2024, the latest year published. Entered by Ministry of the Attorney General staff; the Court says it cannot confirm accuracy or reliability. Excludes enforcement files and fee waiver requests.
Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, Court Services Division
2025–2026 annual report, introduction(opens in a new tab)
Published September 23, 2026. © King’s Printer for Ontario. The report gives rounded workload figures, not case-level data.
Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, Court Services Division
2024–2025 annual report, introduction(opens in a new tab)
© King’s Printer for Ontario. States the figure as an annual workload, not as a count for one year.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Monthly figures to August 2026. IRCC rounds each value to the nearest 5 and hides values from 0 to 5, so annual figures here are our sums and are approximate. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
Government of Canada, Passport Program
Passport program statistics(opens in a new tab)
Fiscal years run April to March. Passports issued to Canadians living in Canada and the United States, with no split by province. The program says some figures may be updated retroactively.
Employment and Social Development Canada
Audit of Passport Service Delivery(opens in a new tab)
States “about 4.9 million” for 2024–2025, up 11% from the previous year.
Google Trends
An index from 0 to 100 relative to the highest week in the chart, not a number of searches. Google samples searches, so a later reading can differ slightly. Yearly figures are our averages of the weekly values.
The Ontario Court of Justice publishes its own statistics (opens in a new tab). They are not reproduced here because its files limit reuse. This page is not an official version of any figure, and it was not made with or endorsed by the Ontario courts, the Government of Ontario, the Government of Canada or Google. IRCC figures are licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada (opens in a new tab). General information only, not legal advice.
Questions
- How many affidavits are sworn in Ontario each year?
- We could not find a public count. None of the courts or government programs on this page publishes one, which is why it gathers the numbers around that paperwork instead: cases, applications, sponsored immigrants and passports. A count of cases is not a count of affidavits, since one case may use several sworn documents or none.
- How many divorces are there in Ontario each year?
- In 2024 the Superior Court of Justice opened 25,805 new Divorce Act proceedings and heard 24,519 uncontested divorce events, 99.4% of them in writing. New proceedings include motions to change a final order, so neither figure is a count of divorces granted.
- Why are Ontario Court of Justice family cases not included?
- That court publishes its own family statistics, but its spreadsheets say the data may not be reused for another purpose without the Court’s approval, so we link to them and quote no figure. The family counts here come from the Superior Court of Justice alone, so they are not Ontario’s whole family caseload.
- How exact are these numbers?
- Court counts are what staff entered, and the Superior Court says it cannot confirm their accuracy. IRCC rounds each monthly figure and hides very small ones, so annual immigration figures are approximate sums. Google Trends is a relative index, not a count of searches. Percentages are our own arithmetic on the published figures.
- Can I use this data in an article or a report?
- Yes. Download the CSV, cite the original publisher for each figure, and link to this page for the compilation. The figures belong to their publishers, whose terms still apply.
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