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Called to the Bar
  • Ontario (2008)
Education
  • LL.B. & B.C.L., McGill University, 2007
  • M.A. (Philosophy, Politics & Economics), Oxford University, 2003
  • B.Sc. (Biochemistry), University of Victoria, 2001
Affiliations
  • The Advocates' Society, Member
  • Ontario Bar Association, Member
  • Canadian Media Lawyers’ Association/Ad IDEM, Member
Languages
  • French

Andrew MacDonald

Partner
Practice Areas
Administrative & Public Law
Class Actions
Commercial Litigation
Media & Defamation
Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Aviation & Transportation

Andrew has a varied practice that includes particular experience in media and defamation law, aviation law and administrative law.

He has appeared before the Ontario Court of Justice, Superior Court of Justice, Divisional Court, and Court of Appeal; the Supreme Court of Canada; the Federal Court; and administrative tribunals including the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and the Canadian Transportation Agency. Andrew has also acted in proceedings before several other courts, tribunals and inquiries including: the Federal Court of Appeal, the Québec Superior Court, the Canadian Human Rights Commission, the Elliot Lake Inquiry, the Coroner’s Inquest Touching the Death of Ashley Smith, and the Ontario Review Board.

Prior to joining WeirFoulds, Andrew was a Partner at Bersenas Jacobsen Chouest Thomson Blackburn LLP. He articled at a national full-service law firm in Toronto.

Before practising, Andrew was a land claims negotiator for the Ontario government’s Ministry of Indigenous Affairs. He also worked for judges of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, located in Tanzania, where he assisted primarily with research and drafting of decisions relating to the “Butare” trial.

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Experience
  • Bondfield Construction Co Ltd v The Globe and Mail, 2018 ONSC 1880, rev’d 2019 ONCA 166
  • Delta Air Lines Inc. v Gábor Lukács, 2018 SCC 2
  • R v Vice Media Canada Inc., 2017 ONCA 231 (counsel to intervener BCCLA), aff’d 2018 SCC 53
  • Diallo c Compagnie Nationale Royale Air Maroc, 2016 ONSC 3247, aff’d 2016 ONCA 842, leave to appeal to SCC refused
  • Maltz v Witterick, 2016 FC 524
  • R v Duffy, 2015 ONCJ 694 (co-counsel to intervener media coalition)
  • Mardonet v. BDO Canada LLP, 2015 ONCA 883
  • Ontario Psychological Association.v. Mardonet et al, 2015 ONSC 3063
  • Parent c. R, 2014 QCCS 132
  • The Globe and Mail v HMQ, 2013 ONSC 6836
  • Viegas v BANIF Banco Internacional do Funchal, 2013 HRTO 1903
  • Recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada as a leading practitioner in Aviation Law and Defamation and Media Law (2025)
  • Bondfield Construction Co Ltd v The Globe and Mail, 2018 ONSC 1880, rev’d 2019 ONCA 166
  • Delta Air Lines Inc. v Gábor Lukács, 2018 SCC 2
  • R v Vice Media Canada Inc., 2017 ONCA 231 (counsel to intervener BCCLA), aff’d 2018 SCC 53
  • Diallo c Compagnie Nationale Royale Air Maroc, 2016 ONSC 3247, aff’d 2016 ONCA 842, leave to appeal to SCC refused
  • Maltz v Witterick, 2016 FC 524
  • R v Duffy, 2015 ONCJ 694 (co-counsel to intervener media coalition)
  • Mardonet v. BDO Canada LLP, 2015 ONCA 883
  • Ontario Psychological Association.v. Mardonet et al, 2015 ONSC 3063
  • Parent c. R, 2014 QCCS 132
  • The Globe and Mail v HMQ, 2013 ONSC 6836
  • Viegas v BANIF Banco Internacional do Funchal, 2013 HRTO 1903
  • Recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada as a leading practitioner in Aviation Law and Defamation and Media Law (2025)

Andrew has a varied practice that includes particular experience in media and defamation law, aviation law and administrative law.

He has appeared before the Ontario Court of Justice, Superior Court of Justice, Divisional Court, and Court of Appeal; the Supreme Court of Canada; the Federal Court; and administrative tribunals including the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and the Canadian Transportation Agency. Andrew has also acted in proceedings before several other courts, tribunals and inquiries including: the Federal Court of Appeal, the Québec Superior Court, the Canadian Human Rights Commission, the Elliot Lake Inquiry, the Coroner’s Inquest Touching the Death of Ashley Smith, and the Ontario Review Board.

Prior to joining WeirFoulds, Andrew was a Partner at Bersenas Jacobsen Chouest Thomson Blackburn LLP. He articled at a national full-service law firm in Toronto.

Before practising, Andrew was a land claims negotiator for the Ontario government’s Ministry of Indigenous Affairs. He also worked for judges of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, located in Tanzania, where he assisted primarily with research and drafting of decisions relating to the “Butare” trial.

Read More +
Experience
  • Bondfield Construction Co Ltd v The Globe and Mail, 2018 ONSC 1880, rev’d 2019 ONCA 166
  • Delta Air Lines Inc. v Gábor Lukács, 2018 SCC 2
  • R v Vice Media Canada Inc., 2017 ONCA 231 (counsel to intervener BCCLA), aff’d 2018 SCC 53
  • Diallo c Compagnie Nationale Royale Air Maroc, 2016 ONSC 3247, aff’d 2016 ONCA 842, leave to appeal to SCC refused
  • Maltz v Witterick, 2016 FC 524
  • R v Duffy, 2015 ONCJ 694 (co-counsel to intervener media coalition)
  • Mardonet v. BDO Canada LLP, 2015 ONCA 883
  • Ontario Psychological Association.v. Mardonet et al, 2015 ONSC 3063
  • Parent c. R, 2014 QCCS 132
  • The Globe and Mail v HMQ, 2013 ONSC 6836
  • Viegas v BANIF Banco Internacional do Funchal, 2013 HRTO 1903
  • Recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada as a leading practitioner in Aviation Law and Defamation and Media Law (2025)
  • Bondfield Construction Co Ltd v The Globe and Mail, 2018 ONSC 1880, rev’d 2019 ONCA 166
  • Delta Air Lines Inc. v Gábor Lukács, 2018 SCC 2
  • R v Vice Media Canada Inc., 2017 ONCA 231 (counsel to intervener BCCLA), aff’d 2018 SCC 53
  • Diallo c Compagnie Nationale Royale Air Maroc, 2016 ONSC 3247, aff’d 2016 ONCA 842, leave to appeal to SCC refused
  • Maltz v Witterick, 2016 FC 524
  • R v Duffy, 2015 ONCJ 694 (co-counsel to intervener media coalition)
  • Mardonet v. BDO Canada LLP, 2015 ONCA 883
  • Ontario Psychological Association.v. Mardonet et al, 2015 ONSC 3063
  • Parent c. R, 2014 QCCS 132
  • The Globe and Mail v HMQ, 2013 ONSC 6836
  • Viegas v BANIF Banco Internacional do Funchal, 2013 HRTO 1903
  • Recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada as a leading practitioner in Aviation Law and Defamation and Media Law (2025)
Called to the Bar
  • Ontario (2008)
Education
  • LL.B. & B.C.L., McGill University, 2007
  • M.A. (Philosophy, Politics & Economics), Oxford University, 2003
  • B.Sc. (Biochemistry), University of Victoria, 2001
Affiliations
  • The Advocates' Society, Member
  • Ontario Bar Association, Member
  • Canadian Media Lawyers’ Association/Ad IDEM, Member
Languages
  • French
Speaking Engagements
  • Panel member, “Anti-SLAPP – Court of Appeal Weighs in” at Canadian Media Lawyers’ Association Annual Conference, Toronto, 2019
  • Panel member, “Global Regulatory Update – Are governments building a “cathedral” of air transport regulation?”, 12th Annual McGill Conference on International Aviation Liability, Insurance & Finance, Montréal, 2019
  • Speaker, Anti-SLAPP Update at Law Society of Ontario’s “Civil Appeals: The Year in Review, 2018”, Toronto, 2018
  • Speaker, Pleading Requirements at Law Society of Ontario’s “Defamation at a Crossroads: Trends and Developments”, Toronto, 2018
  • Speaker, “Flying cameras and the privacy (& property) concerns they raise” presentation for OBA Entertainment, Media and Communications Law Program “Navigating Drone Use in Media Production”, Toronto, 2017
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Latest Insight & News
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Publications

  • Co-author (with Shantona Chaudhury), “Balancing the Public Interest in Expression and the Right to Sue: How Much Protection Should Anti-SLAPP Laws Provide?” in Todd L. Archibald, ed., Annual Review of Civil Litigation, 2019 (Toronto: Thomson Reuters, 2019)
  • “The Court of Appeal (Finally) Has its Say on Anti-SLAPP Legislation” paper for presentation by A.W. MacDonald & B. MacLeod Rogers at Law Society of Ontario’s “Civil Appeals: The Year in Review, 2018”
  • “Pleading for Clarity: A Flexible Approach to the Strict Requirements for Defamation Pleadings” paper for presentation at Law Society of Ontario’s “Defamation at a Crossroads: Trends and Developments”, 2018
  • Co-author (with Shantona Chaudhury), “Teach a Fish to argue…”, Book Review, co-author with S. Chaudhury, The Advocates’ Journal, Vol. 36, No. 1, Summer 2017
  • Co-author (with Carlos Martins), “Aviation” chapter in Bullen & Leake, Canadian Precedents of Pleadings, 3rd ed. (Toronto: Thomson Reuters Canada, 2017)
  • Co-author (with Peter Jacobsen), “Bill C-51 Would Jeopardize the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms”, CJFE & Huffington Post Canada, April 18, 2015
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