TorontoThe Law Society of Ontario (LSO) is considering ending the bar exam and replacing it with a skills-based course as some other provinces have done — but the move is already drawing skepticism from students and industry players.Other provinces have already made the switch; Ontario’s attorney general says it could ‘water down’ standardsNaama Weingarten · CBC News · Posted: Nov 21, 2025 4:32 PM EST | Last Updated: November 21Listen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.The Law Society of Ontario is still determining how the potential courses would be structured. (CBC)The hurdles future lawyers need to jump through in Ontario could soon change. The Law Society of Ontario (LSO) is considering ending the bar exam and replacing it with a skills-based course as some other provinces have done — but the move is already drawing skepticism from students and industry players.That includes the province’s attorney general Doug Downey, who pushed back on the idea on X, formerly Twitter, Monday.“Any changes that water down standards by scrapping written exams simply aren’t acceptable,” he wrote. If the LSO goes ahead with the change, Ontario would join other provinces including Prince Edward Island, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and B.C., which announced its decision to scrap the bar in October.Most of them went on to adopt the Practice Readiness Education Program (PREP), a training program offered by the Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education that’s nine months long, or 14 weeks in an accelerated format. The LSO is still determining how the course could be structured in Ontario, but there will be a final test with scenario-based assignments to “confirm that candidates meet entry-level competence,” a spokesperson wrote in a statement to CBC Toronto. The law society started public consultations in October, which will wrap up in January 2026. Why the change? The bar exam has been in place for roughly 20 years and consists of two open-book, multiple choice tests: the barrister exam and the solicitor exam. Before the bar exam, there was a course-based model that included multiple tests. But according to a September report from the LSO’s Professional Development and Competence Committee, there were concerns that the current bar exam doesn’t assess what lawyers need to know in the real world.The goal is to have an entry-level assessment that’s “more responsive” to the issues lawyers face in their work, whether that’s communication or managing their clients and practice, said Atrisha Lewis, the committee chair.”The intention is still to test for substantive law, it’s just (that) the method of testing might be different,” Lewis said told The Canadian Press this week. “I’m not sure a multiple-choice exam is the best way to test whether or not someone has substantive knowledge of an area of law.”The report also notes complaints that the exam was “extremely stressful and took a significant toll on their mental health.”Those concerns came “more frequently” from candidates who are Indigenous, require accommodation, or are internationally trained, the report said.WATCH | How some law schools are expanding their curriculums:Ever wondered about animal law? U of T launches what it calls first-of-its kind programThe University of Toronto’s Law school is launching a program focused on animal welfare laws and policies. The faculty says it’s the first program of its kind at a Canadian law school.Some candidates also said the open-book nature of the exam turned it into an “exercise in ‘indexing,’” the committee wrote. That could place foreign trained candidates without established networks in Ontario at a disadvantage, as the report notes they may not have access to indexes domestic law school students typically share with their peers. LSO data from 2023 shows domestic graduates have an 88 per cent pass rate average for the barrister exam and 81 per cent pass rate for the solicitor exam. Foreign-trained graduates had a pass rate of 58 per for the barrister exam and 50 per cent pass rate for the solicitor exam. Data from that same year also shows that while foreign-trained lawyers make up 17 per cent of those in private practice, they’re behind roughly a third of the most serious complaints the LSO gets.Osgoode Hall Law School dean Trevor Farrow told CBC Toronto he has mixed feelings about replacing the bar exam and worries the LSO could be changing the system without a “full picture of all the nuances of the problem.”“We need to make sure that those who are trained outside of our Ontario law schools and Canadian law schools actually do have that adequate knowledge. And I think that’s a question mark right now for the Law Society,” he said. What do students think? Stepping out of an exam at University of Toronto Law, first-year student Saiyah Aujla says she’d rather keep the bar as is.“I think taking an exam under pressure is a good test,” she said. Her fellow student, Saahil Gill, sees it both ways.“A skills-based test can seem practical,” he said. “The argument that I do find on the other hand of keeping the exam is just the rigour of it. “First-year law school student Saahil Gill says he can see both sides of the argument around scrapping the bar exam. (Paul Borkwood/CBC)Some students, like those at TMU’s Lincoln Alexander School of Law, could be impacted differently. They don’t have to go through articling because of how the program is structured, meaning many write the bar and go straight to work once they graduate. Replacing the bar with a course could put these students in a “limbo,” according to student society president Iman Nadeem.“It is sort of a drawback to think that I’m going to be pushed into another nine months of school after I graduate to do something that I already was ready to do,” she said. ABOUT THE AUTHORNaama Weingarten is a reporter with CBC News based in Toronto. You can reach her at naama.weingarten@cbc.ca or follow her on X @NaamaWeingarten.With files from The Canadian Press
Ontario bar exam for future lawyers could be scrapped, replaced with skills-based course
