{{Short description|Canadian law professor}} {{Infobox academic | honorific_prefix = The Honourable | name = Robert Leckey | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Robert Leckey | birth_date = | birth_place = Ontario, Canada | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | region = | citizenship = Canadian | other_names = | occupation = Judge, lawyer, academic | period = | known_for = Dean of McGill University Faculty of Law; constitutional and family law scholarship | home_town = | title = Justice of the Superior Court of Quebec | spouse = | partner = | children = | parents = | relatives = | awards = Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Fellowship | website = | education = | alma_mater = Queen's University, McGill University, University of Toronto | thesis_title = | thesis_url = | thesis_year = | school_tradition = | doctoral_advisor = | academic_advisors = | influences = | era = | discipline = Law | sub_discipline = Constitutional law, Family law, LGBTQ+ rights law | workplaces = McGill University Faculty of Law | doctoral_students = | notable_students = | main_interests = Constitutional law, Family law, Human/LGBTQ+ rights | notable_works = ''Families and the Constitution: Remembering the Unrecognized'' (2014) }}
'''Robert Leckey''' is a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec, District of Montreal.<ref>{{cite web |title=Robert Leckey |url=https://www.trudeaufoundation.ca/member/robert-leckey |website=Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation |access-date=28 September 2025}}</ref> From 2016 to 2025, he was the Dean of McGill University's Faculty of Law.
==Education== Robert Leckey graduated from Queen's University with a BAH in English literature and History in 1997.<ref name="Robert Leckey">{{cite web |title=Robert Leckey |url=https://www.queensu.ca/history/about/alumni/alumni-stories/leckey-robert |website=Queen’s University Department of History |access-date=28 September 2025}}</ref> In 2002 he graduated from McGill University Faculty of Law with BCL and LLB degrees.<ref name="Dean Leckey's legacy gift to Law">{{cite web |title=Dean Leckey's legacy gift to Law |url=https://giving.mcgill.ca/all-stories/dean-leckeys-legacy-gift-law |website=McGill Giving |date=9 February 2021 |access-date=28 September 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Leckey appointed Dean of Law |url=https://reporter.mcgill.ca/leckey-appointed-dean-of-law/ |website=McGill Reporter |date=22 April 2016 |access-date=28 September 2025}}</ref> He served as Editor-in-Chief of the ''McGill Law Journal'' while at McGill University. He also pursued an academic exchange from 2001-2002 at Université de Paris, Paris-Panthéon-Assas University through the Conférence des recteurs et des principaux des universités du Québec (CREPUQ) program.<ref name="Robert Leckey"/><ref name="Dean Leckey's legacy gift to Law"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Robert Leckey – Education |url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-leckey-9746b72/details/education/ |website=LinkedIn |access-date=28 September 2025}}</ref>
After graduation he was a clerk to Justice Michel Bastarache at the Supreme Court of Canada. He then graduated from his SJD from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law,<ref name=MM>{{cite web |url=https://www.mcgill.ca/law/about/profs/leckey-robert |title=Robert Leckey |accessdate=April 19, 2013}}</ref> where he was a Trudeau Scholar.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fondationtrudeau.ca/en/community/robert-leckey|title=Home | Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation}}</ref>
==Career== Leckey is known for his work in family law, specifically his work on the subject of same-sex equality under the family law and legal system of Canada.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/2013/04/11/mcgill-workshop-radical-formations-sex-race-trans/ |title=McGill Workshop: Radical Formations — Sex, Race, Trans |date=April 11, 2013 |accessdate=April 19, 2013 |work=Montreal Gazette |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20130629215405/http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/2013/04/11/mcgill-workshop-radical-formations-sex-race-trans/ |archivedate=June 29, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |work=Montreal Gazette |accessdate=April 19, 2013 |date=April 10, 2013 |title=International McGill University conference puts transgender civil rights front and centre |url=http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/2013/04/10/international-mcgill-university-conference-puts-transgender-civil-rights-front-and-centre/ |archive-date=April 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130416045229/http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/2013/04/10/international-mcgill-university-conference-puts-transgender-civil-rights-front-and-centre/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> He is an active supporter of LGBT rights in Quebec and has made open statements against government policies that affect LGBT communities negatively.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/a-simple-answer-to-quebecs-simple-adoption-question/article4288658/ |accessdate=April 19, 2013 |title=A simple answer to Quebec's simple adoption question |date=October 13, 2009 |work=The Globe and Mail |author=Margaret Sommerville}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ledevoir.com/societe/actualites-en-societe/271791/libre-opinion-reforme-de-l-adoption-l-interet-de-l-enfant |newspaper=Le Devoir |accessdate=April 19, 2013 |date=October 28, 2009 |title=Free opinion - Adoption reform: the interests of the child |author=Alain Roy}}</ref> He has also provided arguments that try to poke holes in modern family law ethics, such as the concept of divorce.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://nationalpost.com/opinion/chris-selleys-full-pundit-many-wives-many-problems |date=November 24, 2011 |access-date=April 19, 2013 |title=Chris Selley's Full Pundit: Many wives, many problems |author=Chris Selley |work=National Post |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130630000043/http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2011/11/24/chris-selleys-full-pundit-many-wives-many-problems/ |archive-date=June 30, 2013 }}</ref> Leckey has worked in the field of human rights law<ref>{{cite news |url=http://affaires.lapresse.ca/cv/vie-au-travail/201008/11/01-4305524-travail-famille-les-obligations-de-lemployeur.php |title=Work-family obligations of the employer |date=August 11, 2010 |accessdate=April 19, 2013 |newspaper=La Presse |author=Caroline Rodgers}}</ref> He has also been active in LGBTQ rights advocacy, serving previously as chair of Egale Canada’s Legal Issues Committee and criticizing legal and policy inequalities affecting same-sex couples in family law contexts.<ref>{{cite web |title=Reflections from Quebec on Language, Identity, and Constitutional Reform|first=Robert|last=Leckey |url=https://politics.ubc.ca/events/event/reflections-from-quebec-on-language-identity-and-constitutional-reform-robert-leckey/ |access-date=28 September 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Robert Leckey Promoted to Full Professor |url=https://www.mcgill.ca/law/channels/news/robert-leckey-promoted-full-professor-256810 |website=McGill University |access-date=28 September 2025}}</ref>
In 2009 he was awarded the John W. Durnford Prize for Teaching Excellence and ''le Prix d'essai juridique'' for his legal scholarship.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.droit-inc.com/article2514%26show_comzone=y |title=Coup double pour le professeur Robert Leckey |accessdate=April 19, 2013 |date=May 12, 2009 |publisher=Droit-inc.com}}</ref> In 2010 he was awarded the Canada Prize for his 2008 book ''Contextual Subjects: Family, State and Relational Theory'', a national book award given only once every four years.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mcgill.ca/channels/news/robert-leckey%E2%80%99s-book-wins-canada-prize-165559 |title=Robert Leckey's book wins Canada Prize |date=August 17, 2010 |accessdate=April 19, 2013 |publisher=McGill Reporter}}</ref> In 2015, Leckey became a full professor. In 2016, he was named to the Samuel Gale Chair. On July 1, 2016, he began a five-year term as dean of the McGill Faculty of Law. From 2014 to 2016, Leckey was the director of the Paul-André Crépeau Centre for Private and Comparative Law. From 2008 to 2011, he chaired the McGill Equity Subcommittee on Queer People.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.canadianlawyermag.com/legalfeeds/3232/new-mcgill-law-dean-to-focus-on-multiple-legal-traditions.html |title=New McGill law dean to focus on multiple legal traditions |website=www.canadianlawyermag.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160502053730/http://canadianlawyermag.com/legalfeeds/3232/new-mcgill-law-dean-to-focus-on-multiple-legal-traditions.html |archive-date=2016-05-02}}</ref>
On January 27, 2025, Leckey was appointed as a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/department-justice/news/2025/01/minister-of-justice-and-attorney-general-of-canada-announces-judicial-appointments-in-the-province-of-quebec.html |title=Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada announces judicial appointments in the province of Quebec |website=www.canada.ca/en/department-justice.html |date=27 January 2025 }}</ref> His appointment swiftly drew sharp criticism, including from Quebec’s Justice Minister, Simon Jolin-Barrette.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.montrealgazette.com/news/provincial-news/article720572.html |title=Quebec denounces appointment of Bill 21, Bill 96 critic Robert Leckey to court|website=www.montrealgazette.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ledevoir.com/politique/canada/837493/juge-militant-contre-loi-21-nomme-ottawa |title=Un juge «militant» contre la loi 21 nommé par Ottawa |website=www.ledevoir.com|date=30 January 2025 }}</ref>
==Controversies== {{Criticism section|date=October 2025}} In 2022, Leckey was strongly criticized in his position as Dean regarding the Faculty of Law's lack of measures to counter the spread of COVID-19.<ref name="DelitStrike">{{cite news |last1=Genest |first1=Gabrielle |date=26 January 2022 |title=Les étudiant·e·s en droit préparent une grève |url=https://www.delitfrancais.com/2022/01/26/les-etudiant·e·s-en-droit-preparent-une-greve/ |access-date=2 February 2022 |publisher=Le Délit |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet |number=1488264372606672902 |user=genevievejoelle |title=FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Students at #McGill law voted overwhelmingly in favour to strike due to unsafe covid conditions. We stand in solidarity with our unionizing profs, students with disabilities & students w/ caretaking responsibilities. Please boost and share! #McGillOnStrike |first1=Geneviève |date=31 January 2022 |last1=Joëlle}}</ref> He referred to a student strike, initiated by referendum, as a "boycott"<ref>{{cite tweet |number=1488569788238602242 |user=juliaebthom |title=If it were a boycott we would be withholding our tuition. We're withholding our labour at our own financial and professional risk - sounds like a strike! |first1=Julia |date=1 February 2022 |access-date=2 February 2022 |last1=Thomas}}</ref> and insisted that he cannot mandate measures in classes due to professorial independence.<ref name="DelitStrike"/> Nonetheless, he has opposed professorial unionization on the grounds that law professors should not form a bargaining unit separate from other professors at McGill.<ref>{{cite podcast |url=https://soundcloud.com/ckutlegalease/mcgillprofessorsoflawareunionizing |title=For the First Time in 200 Years, McGill Professors of Law are Unionizing (or Attempting to) |work=Legalease |publisher=CKUT-FM |date=14 January 2022 |access-date=2 February 2022 |via=SoundCloud}}</ref>
In September 2025, Leckey's appointment as a judge was challenged by Droits collectifs Québec, a non-profit organization, on the basis that Leckey failed to meet the constitutional requirements for office. They claim that judges of the Superior Court of Quebec must be members of the Barreau du Québec for a minimum of 10 years prior to appointment to the bench. Leckey had only been a member of the Quebec bar for seven years at the time of his appointment.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pirro |first=Raphaël |date=September 14, 2025 |title=La nomination du juge Robert Leckey contestée en cour par un organisme prolaïcité |url=https://www.journaldequebec.com/2025/09/13/la-nomination-du-juge-robert-leckey-contestee-en-cour-par-un-organisme-prolaicite |website=Le Journal de Montréal |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=September 14, 2025 |title=Judicial rights group challenges judge's appointment to Quebec Superior Court - Montreal {{!}} Globalnews.ca |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/11422995/droits-collectifs-quebec-robert-leckey/ |website=Global News |language=en}}</ref> The Constitution Act, 1867 requires that "The Judges of the Courts of Quebec shall be selected from the Bar of that Province" while the Judges Act requires that an appointee "is a barrister or advocate of at least 10 years’ standing at the bar of any province".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mach |first1=Jessica |title=Advocacy group challenging McGill dean's judicial appointment cites Quebec's unique legal needs |url=https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/news/general/quebec/393068 |website=Canadian Lawyer |access-date=30 October 2025 |date=16 September 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Constitution Acts 1867 to 1982 |url=https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/FullText.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Judges Act |url=https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/j-1/FullText.html}}</ref> Leckey was previously a member of the Ontario bar.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lafontaine |first1=Miriam |title=Judicial rights group denounces judge's appointment to Quebec Superior Court |url=https://www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/national/judicial-rights-group-denounces-judges-appointment-to-quebec-superior-court/article_e5207199-4bb8-5ec6-991f-e6d8a708640b.html |website=The Canadian Press |access-date=30 October 2025 |date=14 September 2025}}</ref>
==Personal life== Leckey is fluently bilingual, having taught and published in both English and French and contributing to Quebec francophone legal scholarly networks.<ref>{{cite web |title=Robert Leckey Promoted to Full Professor |url=https://www.mcgill.ca/law/channels/news/robert-leckey-promoted-full-professor-256810 |website=McGill University |access-date=28 September 2025}}</ref>
Leckey is openly gay and has written extensively on the legal recognition of same-sex relationships in Canada.<ref>{{cite web |last=Leckey |first=Robert |title=Families and the Constitution: Remembering the Unrecognized|publisher=McGill-Queen’s University Press |year=2014 |url=https://www.mqup.ca/families-and-the-constitution-products-9780773543528.php |access-date=28 September 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Robert Leckey: Biography |url=https://trudeaufoundation.ca/member/robert-leckey |website=Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation |access-date=28 September 2025}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== {{URL|https://www.mcgill.ca/law/about/profs/leckey-robert}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leckey, Robert}} Category:Living people Category:Academic staff of the McGill University Faculty of Law Category:University of Toronto Faculty of Law alumni Category:Canadian LGBTQ rights activists Category:McGill University Faculty of Law alumni Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:McGill Law Journal editors