Does making a payment restart the limitation clock?

Whether a payment or a written acknowledgment restarts or pauses the period is set out in each province's own Act, and the wording differs between them. This is exactly the kind of date-specific question a lawyer should check against your file rather than a general guide answering it in the abstract.

Can a collection agency still contact me after the limitation period passes?

Expiry of a limitation period is about whether a lawsuit can be started, not about whether contact can continue. Provincial rules on how a collector may contact you are a separate topic — see our guide on collection calls and your rights.

Does any of this apply if a creditor already has a court judgment against me?

A judgment a court has already granted follows its own separate rules about how long it can be enforced, which this page does not cover. A lawyer can explain what applies once a claim has already gone that far.

Does a limitation period apply to money owed to the Canada Revenue Agency?

Tax debt generally follows separate collection powers rather than the ordinary provincial limitation rules described here. See our guide on CRA tax debt options, or speak to the CRA or a Licensed Insolvency Trustee about a specific balance.

Why does Quebec call this "prescription" instead of a "limitation period"?

Quebec is a civil law jurisdiction and sets this rule in the Civil Code of Québec rather than in a separate limitations statute — article 2925 sets a three-year period for the kind of claim discussed on this page. The underlying idea is the same: a deadline for going to court.

Where can I read the actual law instead of a summary?

Every citation in the table above links back to that province's own legislature or Queen's/King's Printer website. Reading the section itself, and checking its date, is safer than relying on a law-firm blog post or a forum answer that may predate a later amendment.

How long can a creditor sue you for an unpaid debt in Canada?

In short

Every province and territory fixes its own limitation period for an ordinary unsecured debt claim: most set two years, a few set longer, and two jurisdictions have no verified figure here. Once the period runs out, a court action generally cannot start, though what that means for the debt itself differs by province. This is not legal advice.

Updated 2026-09-04

What is a limitation period, and why does it matter for a debt?

A limitation period is a deadline set by provincial or territorial law for starting a court proceeding. It exists for lawsuits generally, not only for debt, and each province decides its own length and its own starting point — usually the date the creditor knew, or reasonably should have known, that the debt was owing and who owed it.

For an ordinary unsecured debt — a credit card, a line of credit, a personal loan — the relevant clock is the one that governs an ordinary contract claim in that province. A secured debt, a debt already reduced to a court judgment, or a debt owed to a government body can follow different rules that this page does not cover.

How long does a creditor have to sue in each province or territory?

The figures below are read directly from each jurisdiction's own limitations statute, with the citation shown. Where no figure appears, it is because this page could not confirm the current provision at source — not because the province has no limitation period at all.

Limitation period for an ordinary unsecured debt claim

	Jurisdiction	Period	Citation
Ontario	Ontario	2 years	Limitations Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 24, Sch. B, s. 4
British Columbia	British Columbia	2 years	Limitation Act, S.B.C. 2012, c. 13, s. 6
Alberta	Alberta	2 years	Limitations Act, R.S.A. 2000, c. L-12, s. 3(1)(a)
Manitoba	Manitoba	2 years (since 2022-09-30)	The Limitations Act, C.C.S.M. c. L150, s. 6
Saskatchewan	Saskatchewan	2 years	The Limitations Act, S.S. 2004, c. L-16.1, s. 5
New Brunswick	New Brunswick	2 years	Limitation of Actions Act, S.N.B. 2009, c. L-8.5, s. 5(1)(a)
Quebec	Quebec	3 years	Civil Code of Québec, art. 2925
Newfoundland and Labrador	Newfoundland and Labrador	6 years	Limitations Act, S.N.L. 1995, c. L-16.1, s. 6(1)(h)
Prince Edward Island	Prince Edward Island	6 years	Statute of Limitations, R.S.P.E.I. 1988, c. S-7, s. 2(1)(g)
Yukon	Yukon	6 years	Limitation of Actions Act, R.S.Y. 2002, c. 139, s. 2(1)(f)
Northwest Territories	Northwest Territories	6 years	Limitation of Actions Act, R.S.N.W.T. 1988, c. L-8, s. 2(1)(f)
Nova Scotia	Nova Scotia	Not verified — see note below	—
Nunavut	Nunavut	Not verified — see note below	—

Ontario

Jurisdiction: Ontario
Period: 2 years
Citation: Limitations Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 24, Sch. B, s. 4

British Columbia

Jurisdiction: British Columbia
Period: 2 years
Citation: Limitation Act, S.B.C. 2012, c. 13, s. 6

Alberta

Jurisdiction: Alberta
Period: 2 years
Citation: Limitations Act, R.S.A. 2000, c. L-12, s. 3(1)(a)

Manitoba

Jurisdiction: Manitoba
Period: 2 years (since 2022-09-30)
Citation: The Limitations Act, C.C.S.M. c. L150, s. 6

Saskatchewan

Jurisdiction: Saskatchewan
Period: 2 years
Citation: The Limitations Act, S.S. 2004, c. L-16.1, s. 5

New Brunswick

Jurisdiction: New Brunswick
Period: 2 years
Citation: Limitation of Actions Act, S.N.B. 2009, c. L-8.5, s. 5(1)(a)

Quebec

Jurisdiction: Quebec
Period: 3 years
Citation: Civil Code of Québec, art. 2925

Newfoundland and Labrador

Jurisdiction: Newfoundland and Labrador
Period: 6 years
Citation: Limitations Act, S.N.L. 1995, c. L-16.1, s. 6(1)(h)

Prince Edward Island

Jurisdiction: Prince Edward Island
Period: 6 years
Citation: Statute of Limitations, R.S.P.E.I. 1988, c. S-7, s. 2(1)(g)

Yukon

Jurisdiction: Yukon
Period: 6 years
Citation: Limitation of Actions Act, R.S.Y. 2002, c. 139, s. 2(1)(f)

Northwest Territories

Jurisdiction: Northwest Territories
Period: 6 years
Citation: Limitation of Actions Act, R.S.N.W.T. 1988, c. L-8, s. 2(1)(f)

Nova Scotia

Jurisdiction: Nova Scotia
Period: Not verified — see note below
Citation: —

Nunavut

Jurisdiction: Nunavut
Period: Not verified — see note below
Citation: —

What this table covers

These figures are for an ordinary unsecured debt claim only. A debt a creditor has already turned into a court judgment, a secured debt such as a mortgage, and money owed to a government body can each run on a different clock that this table does not show.

Why do Nova Scotia and Nunavut not show a number?

Nova Scotia sets its own limitation period by statute, and Nunavut carries forward territorial legislation inherited at division. In both cases this page could not confirm the current, consolidated provision directly at the legislature's own source, so no figure is stated. A number copied from a secondary summary would read as researched even if it were wrong, and that is worse than leaving the row blank.

If you owe money in either jurisdiction and need to know how long a creditor has to sue, the honest next step is to read the consolidated Act published by that legislature, or to ask a lawyer to apply the correct provision to your own dates.

What does the limitation period actually stop, and what does it not do?

The statutes above deal with one thing: whether a court proceeding on the claim can still be started. Once the period has run, the general rule is that a lawsuit filed on that claim can be dismissed on that basis. It does not mean the debt was paid, and it does not, on its own, delete the debt from your records.

What expiry means for the underlying obligation — whether it is merely unenforceable in court or treated as extinguished outright — is not the same from province to province, because several of these Acts carry their own wording on the point. That difference is exactly the kind of question a lawyer should answer against your own file rather than a general guide answering in the abstract.

Is a limitation period the same thing as how long a debt stays on your credit report?

No — these are two separate clocks that happen to run at the same time on the same debt. The limitation period is a legal deadline for suing, set by provincial or territorial law. Credit report retention is a separate practice, described by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada: a late or unpaid credit card or loan can generally stay on file for up to six years.

So a debt can pass the point where a court claim on it can no longer start while it is still visible on a credit report, or the other way around. Neither clock erases the other, and neither one tells you what the other says.

What should you do if you are sued, or threatened with a suit, on an old debt?

A limitation defence is not automatic — it has to be raised, and applying it correctly depends on dates most people do not have organized in advance. The sequence below is general information, not a substitute for reading your own claim with a lawyer.

A general sequence, not legal advice

01
Pin down the relevant date
Find when the debt became due, or when you last made a payment or acknowledged it in writing — the specific starting point a court would use.
02
Read what you actually received
A demand letter or a collection call is not a court claim. Check whether you have been formally served with a Statement of Claim before assuming a limitation clock stopped running.
03
Never ignore a Statement of Claim
If you are formally sued, court rules give you a limited window to file a defence. Missing it can lead to a default judgment regardless of what the limitation period would otherwise have said.
04
Ask a lawyer whether the defence applies
A lawyer can match your dates against the correct statute, check whether anything reset or paused the clock, and raise the defence properly if it applies.

Can a consumer proposal or bankruptcy still deal with an old debt?

Yes. A consumer proposal or bankruptcy filed through a Licensed Insolvency Trustee deals with unsecured debts as a group, whether or not any individual debt in that group is old enough to raise a limitation question. If a mix of old and recent unsecured debt is the real problem, that federal route is worth understanding on its own terms.

Is this legal advice?

No. This page describes what each statute says in general terms, using the citations shown, so you know where to look and what question to bring to a professional. It does not apply any of this to your specific dates, your specific province, or your specific claim, and a small factual difference can change the answer.

See which of these fit me

Frequently asked questions

Does making a payment restart the limitation clock?: Whether a payment or a written acknowledgment restarts or pauses the period is set out in each province's own Act, and the wording differs between them. This is exactly the kind of date-specific question a lawyer should check against your file rather than a general guide answering it in the abstract.
Can a collection agency still contact me after the limitation period passes?: Expiry of a limitation period is about whether a lawsuit can be started, not about whether contact can continue. Provincial rules on how a collector may contact you are a separate topic — see our guide on collection calls and your rights.
Does any of this apply if a creditor already has a court judgment against me?: A judgment a court has already granted follows its own separate rules about how long it can be enforced, which this page does not cover. A lawyer can explain what applies once a claim has already gone that far.
Does a limitation period apply to money owed to the Canada Revenue Agency?: Tax debt generally follows separate collection powers rather than the ordinary provincial limitation rules described here. See our guide on CRA tax debt options, or speak to the CRA or a Licensed Insolvency Trustee about a specific balance.
Why does Quebec call this "prescription" instead of a "limitation period"?: Quebec is a civil law jurisdiction and sets this rule in the Civil Code of Québec rather than in a separate limitations statute — article 2925 sets a three-year period for the kind of claim discussed on this page. The underlying idea is the same: a deadline for going to court.
Where can I read the actual law instead of a summary?: Every citation in the table above links back to that province's own legislature or Queen's/King's Printer website. Reading the section itself, and checking its date, is safer than relying on a law-firm blog post or a forum answer that may predate a later amendment.