Power of Attorney in Canada: A Guide by Province

A power of attorney (POA) lets you name someone to manage your property or make personal care decisions if you become unable to do so yourself, and the rules for creating, naming, and ending one vary by province.

What a power of attorney does

A power of attorney is a document in which one person (the grantor, sometimes called the donor) authorizes another person (the attorney) to act on their behalf. In Canada the word "attorney" simply means an appointed decision-maker; it has nothing to do with being a lawyer.

Most provinces split power of attorney into two separate roles that cannot be combined into a single all-purpose document:

• A property or financial power of attorney lets the attorney manage bank accounts, pay bills, sell property, and handle investments.
• A personal-care or health power of attorney lets the attorney make decisions about medical treatment, housing, and day-to-day personal care.

Quebec is the exception. Its mandat de protection (protection mandate) covers both property and personal care in one document, as explained below.

Ordinary POA vs continuing/enduring POA

An ordinary (or "general") power of attorney is only valid while the grantor has legal capacity. The moment the grantor becomes mentally incapable, an ordinary POA automatically ends, which defeats the main reason most people want one: protection during incapacity.

To fix this, every common-law province lets you make a continuing power of attorney (Ontario's term) or an enduring power of attorney (the term used in BC, Alberta, and most other provinces). The document must say expressly that it continues, or endures, despite the grantor's later incapacity. Without that wording, the POA lapses exactly when it is needed most.

A continuing or enduring POA can be drafted to take effect two ways:

• Immediately on signing. The attorney can act right away, even while the grantor is still capable, and continues to be able to act if capacity is later lost. This is the more common approach because it avoids disputes over exactly when incapacity began.
• Springing, on incapacity only. The document specifies that the attorney's authority only begins once incapacity is confirmed, typically by a physician's assessment or another mechanism named in the document. This offers more privacy while capable but can delay the attorney's ability to act at the moment of crisis.

Personal-care and health decisions

A property POA has no authority over medical treatment or personal care. For that, each province has its own separate instrument:

• Ontario calls it a Power of Attorney for Personal Care, made under the Substitute Decisions Act.
• British Columbia splits this further. Health and personal care decisions are handled by a Representation Agreement under the Representation Agreement Act (a section 7 agreement for standard decisions, or a broader section 9 agreement that can include consent to or refusal of life support), while an Enduring Power of Attorney under the Power of Attorney Act deals only with property and finances.
• Alberta calls its personal-care instrument a Personal Directive, made under the Personal Directives Act.
• Other provinces use similar but not identical names, such as a Health Care Directive (Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick) or a Personal Directive (Nova Scotia).

Because the names and governing statutes differ by province, always confirm the current terminology on the relevant provincial government site before signing anything.

Provincial terminology at a glance

This table is a general guide. Always verify the current statute name and requirements for a specific province before relying on it.

Quebec's mandat de protection

Quebec does not use the common-law "power of attorney" structure. Instead, the Civil Code of Quebec provides for a mandat de protection (protection mandate, sometimes still called a mandate in case of incapacity). One document can appoint a mandatary for both property and the person, or separate mandataries for each role.

The key difference from the rest of Canada is that a Quebec protection mandate has no legal effect on its own once incapacity occurs. It must first be homologated, meaning confirmed, either by the Superior Court of Quebec or, under a recent reform, by a notary in an uncontested case. Homologation involves medical and psychosocial assessments confirming incapacity before the mandatary can start acting. Until homologation happens, the mandate sits dormant even if incapacity has already begun.

Who can act as an attorney or mandatary

Most provinces require only that the attorney be an adult (age of majority in that province) who is mentally capable of managing the relevant decisions. There is generally no requirement to use a lawyer, a family member, or a trust company, though many people choose a spouse, adult child, or trusted friend.

Good practice, encouraged by every provincial government guide, includes:

• Naming an alternate attorney in case the first choice becomes unable or unwilling to act.
• Naming more than one attorney to act jointly, or jointly and severally, for larger or more sensitive estates.
• Avoiding an attorney who has a financial conflict of interest with the grantor, such as someone who owes the grantor money.

Capacity to grant a power of attorney

To make a valid power of attorney, the grantor must have the mental capacity to understand what the document does. This is generally described as a lower threshold than the capacity needed to manage all of one's own property day to day; a person can lack the capacity to manage their finances but still have the capacity to understand and sign a POA appointing someone else to do it. Capacity is assessed at the time of signing, which is why questions about a person's capacity when the document was made are one of the most common grounds for later disputes.

When a power of attorney ends

A power of attorney automatically ends when any of the following happens:

• The grantor dies. At that point the attorney's authority stops entirely and the grantor's will, and the executor or estate trustee named in it, takes over administration of the estate. See our guide to making a will in Canada for how that transition works.
• The grantor revokes the POA in writing while still capable.
• The named attorney dies, becomes incapable, or resigns, unless an alternate attorney was named.
• A court sets the POA aside, for example for incapacity at the time of signing or for abuse.

Revoking a power of attorney

While still capable, a grantor can revoke a power of attorney at any time, generally by signing a written revocation and notifying the attorney and any institution relying on the document, such as a bank. Making a new POA does not automatically cancel an older one in every province, so the old document should be revoked expressly and, where possible, physically destroyed or retrieved.

Safeguards against financial abuse

Because a continuing or enduring POA can hand over significant control, provincial governments and law societies recommend several safeguards:

• Choose an attorney you trust completely, and consider naming a monitor or requiring the attorney to provide regular accounting to a third party.
• Keep the signed original with a lawyer, notary, or another secure location, rather than only with the attorney.
• Consider a springing POA, effective only on confirmed incapacity, if you are not ready for an attorney to have immediate authority.
• Review and update the document periodically, and after any major life change such as separation or the death of a named attorney.

Provincial Public Guardian and Trustee offices (or Quebec's Curateur public) can investigate suspected abuse of a power of attorney or protection mandate.

Province-by-Province Guides

Execution rules, oversight bodies, and even the names of the documents differ by jurisdiction, so see the dedicated guide for where you live:

• Power of attorney in Ontario
• Power of attorney in British Columbia
• Power of attorney in Alberta
• Power of attorney in Saskatchewan
• Power of attorney in Manitoba
• Quebec's mandat de protection
• Power of attorney in Nova Scotia
• Power of attorney in New Brunswick
• Power of attorney in Prince Edward Island
• Power of attorney in Newfoundland and Labrador
• Powers of attorney in Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut

For related estate-planning topics, see making a will in Canada, Quebec estate settlement, and our Canada wills and probate hub.

Disclaimer: This article provides general information about powers of attorney in Canada and is not legal advice. Provincial requirements and forms change; confirm current rules with the relevant provincial government site or a lawyer or notary before relying on any power of attorney document.