OTTAWA: After nearly 150 years of tradition, Supreme Court of Canada judges have decided to discontinue the use of their heavy red and white ceremonial robes. They will instead adopt a new, simplified black gown adorned with red trim. This significant change coincides with the Supreme Court’s 150th anniversary and the inauguration of the new judicial year.
The traditional vestments, worn by the court’s judges since 1875, were long, red robes with white fur trim. Due to their distinctive colour and shape, these robes were famously nicknamed the “Santa Robes” and are now officially part of history.
The new attire features a simpler design: black silk robes with red piping and white collars. The robes were manufactured by ‘Les Rabat-Joies’ in Quebec, using imported Korean silk, with each garment taking approximately 40 hours to produce. Special features include hand-embroidered details and custom ‘SC’ (Supreme Court) buttons.
“We took on the challenge of modernizing a 150-year-old tradition,” the manufacturing company stated on social media regarding the new design.
The old red ceremonial robes will now only be reserved for highly specific occasions, such as welcoming new judges and the opening of a new session of Parliament. For standard court proceedings, judges had already been using simple black silk robes. This tradition of judicial attire was originally inherited from Britain.
Justices including Karakatsanis and Côté, who held differing views on the old attire, appeared in court on Monday in the new robes. This session also marked the final one before the current building closes for a planned 10-year renovation.
