He replaces Mark Edwards in the role
Superior Court of Justice of Ontario judge Howard Leibovich has been appointed the new regional senior judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario for the Central East Region.
He replaces Mark Edwards (Newmarket), who elected to become a supernumerary judge as of October 10, 2025. Edwards had taken on the role in February 2021, succeeding Michelle Fuerst.
In 1996, Leibovich started his legal career at the Crown Law Office-Criminal at the Ministry of the Attorney General in Toronto. He became director of the office in 2011, overseeing its operation in addition to serving as a litigator.
He chaired the Ontario criminal conviction review committee, which evaluates past cases for possible miscarriages of justice. He sat on the Death Investigation Oversight Council, which supervises the death investigation system in Ontario.
Leibovich has prosecuted criminal cases at all levels of court. He has often appeared before the Ontario Court of Appeal.
He joined the bench of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario in 2019 as a judge and the Court of Appeal for Ontario as a judge ex officio. He has trained the police as well as members of the legal profession and judiciary; moreover, he developed education programs and courses geared towards Crown counsel, Crown managers and the provincial attorney general.
Leibovich received his bachelor of commerce degree from McGill University’s Faculty of Management and obtained his B.C.L. and L.L.B. from McGill University’s Faculty of Law.
Canada justice minister and attorney general Sean Fraser, who is also the minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, made the announcement of Leibovich’s new appointment yesterday March 16. Fraser expressed confidence in Leibovich’s service to Ontarians.
In January, insurance law, torts, and civil advocacy expert Paul J. Barnes joined the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario as an associate judge.
