The Supreme Court of Canada plays the role of the court of last resort in the Canadian judicial system.  This means that the Supreme Court is the last court to which a case may be appealed; there is no higher court in the Canadian system.  This has not, however, always been the case.

The Supreme Court of Canada was created by law in 1875.  At that point, however, it was not the court of last resort.  In those days, decisions of the Supreme Court could be appealed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in England.  It was not until 1949 that this right to appeal to the Privy Council was abolished and the Supreme Court truly became the court of last resort in Canada.