Application Process:
📌Send your application via viRecruit (https://recruitcdn.viglobalcloud.com). Please include a cover letter, your resume, your law school transcripts, and your anticipated upper year courses. Please note that applications sent by email or in GCJobs will not be accepted.
📌Each school sets their own deadlines for when applications must be received. Please consult with your school's guidelines for deadlines, to ensure the PPSC will be able to consider your candidacy.
📌The deadline to apply is Monday, July 21, 2025, 5:00PM EDT (Eastern Daylight Time).
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion:
The Federal Public Service is stronger and most effective when we reflect the diversity of the Canadian population we serve. The Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) is dedicated to building a diverse workforce and an equitable, inclusive and accessible workplace culture. We are committed to being representative of Canadian society and ensuring that our workforce feels they belong. All candidates in the area of selection who believe they are qualified are encouraged to apply, especially equity groups like members of a racialized group, persons living with a disability, Indigenous Peoples, and the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Bringing your whole self to work each day is important to us. We are genuinely interested in understanding who you are and what your identity factors are.
Accessibility:
Set yourself up for success! As the objective of this process is to assess qualifications needed for the position(s) to be staffed, it is important to us that you feel included and that you can participate without barriers. We are committed to improving accessibility in all areas of our organization and adopting a “Yes, by default” approach when necessary requirements are requested. You are encouraged to communicate your unique needs for accessibility and/or accommodation. Should you proceed to a future assessment stage, such as an exam or interview, we will send you an e-mail with additional information and you can determine if you may require an accommodation at that time (such as, but not limited to, a different test format, an adaptive technology, additional time, a new date, etc.). Assessment accommodations are designed to remove the obstacles without altering the criteria being assessed so that candidates can fully demonstrate their abilities.
Please use the contact information below to request accommodation during any phase of this assessment process. This information will be kept confidential and your right to privacy will be protected.
As a second year summer student, you will have the opportunity to work on both trials and appeals with the following teams and offices:
• Toronto Team
The Toronto Team is primarily responsible for street-level drug prosecutions, and is comprised of three separate rotating teams: the Case Management Team, the Ontario Court of Justice Litigation Team, and the Superior Court Litigation team. Counsel are assigned files at their inception, guiding them through the case management process and into preliminary inquiries and trials at the Ontario Court of Justice and Superior Court of Justice. Counsel on the Toronto Team are also responsible for staffing the docket courts at the Ontario Court of Justice and the Superior Court of Justice.
• Integrated Road Team (IRT)
The IRT prosecutes cases across Southern Ontario under federal statutes, including high complexity wiretap cases involving conspiracies, large-scale drug trafficking, drug importing and organized crime. Along with counsel on other teams, the team is also responsible for anti-terrorism prosecutions. Counsel provide advice on various legal issues involving confidential informants, the use of undercover officers or civilian police agents, the collection of foreign evidence, the use of new technology and search techniques.
• Revenue/Regulatory Team
The Revenue Team conducts prosecutions involving financial crimes against the government, including large-scale, multi-jurisdictional frauds and other white collar crime. The Regulatory Team prosecutes a wide variety of offences, ranging from workplace fatalities (under the Canada Labour Code), bribing foreign officials (under the Corruption of Foreign Officials Act), to environmental offences. Prosecutors on these teams are heavily involved in giving pre-charge advice to investigators from regulatory agencies at the investigative stage as well as prosecuting lengthy and challenging trials.
• Brampton Office
The Brampton office offers students the opportunity to be involved in both small and large scale CDSA prosecutions, as well as prosecutions of various international travel offences related to immigration, customs enforcement, and the importation of drugs. At the busy Brampton Courthouse students will be able to shadow Crowns prosecuting such cases, while back at the office students will find themselves in the supportive environment of the office’s strong team ethic.
For more information, please visit our website at https://www.ppsc-sppc.gc.ca/eng/wop-oce/0502.html
Candidates may be invited back to join the organization as Articling Students upon the completion of their Law Degree in accordance with the guidelines of the Law Society of Ontario.
The Department:
The Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) is a national organization that prosecutes federal offences. We offer career opportunities for prosecutors, paralegals, legal assistants, and a wide range of business professionals. Our organization consists of approximately 1000 employees in regional offices across the country.
In 2023, we updated our Mission and Values to reflect our commitment to Truth and Reconciliation as well as Equity and Inclusion. The PPSC acknowledges the realities faced by individuals subjected to systemic discrimination and the significant over-representation of racialized and Indigenous persons in the criminal justice system. The PPSC’s mission is to serve the public interest and help make Canada a safe and just society by conducting prosecutions in a manner that is equitable, objective and independent, while protecting the rights of every individual; and contributing to the change necessary to support a criminal justice system that is fair to all.
To learn more about the PPSC’s guiding mission and values, visit: https://www.ppsc-sppc.gc.ca/eng/bas/mis-mis.html.
Every PPSC employee has a role to play in creating a work environment where every person can bring their whole self to work and feel valued and empowered to contribute. Being informed and influenced by our diverse employees helps change the heart and conscience of the PPSC. As part of the larger PPSC Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (EDIA) governance structure, you can join one of five National Councils for Employees: Persons living with Disabilities, Racialized Persons, Black Persons, Indigenous Peoples, and 2SLGBTQIA+.
The PPSC also updated the Decision to Prosecute test, which provides clear guidance to prosecutors on how to be more proactive and conscious about recognizing bias, discrimination, and other factors contributing to over-representation. Prosecutors now have a framework to consider background and systemic factors. These factors are considered not only as they relate to the accused, but also to the victim and affected communities, particularly Indigenous women and girls. It also seeks to clarify situations where the public interest may not require a prosecution.
The Ontario Regional Office:
By joining the Ontario Regional Office (ORO) of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC), you will gain experience in a team environment playing a key role in the Canadian criminal justice system. From summary conviction matters to high profile drug and terrorism cases, we offer a wide array of challenging work. The PPSC is committed to our students. We offer a positive working environment, a strong mentorship program, extensive legal and advocacy training as well as training in diversity and inclusion. These are just a few of the many benefits the PPSC offers.
The ORO is responsible for federal prosecutions (primarily under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA)) in southern and southwestern Ontario, from Windsor in the west to Trenton in the east, and northward to Georgian Bay and the districts encompassing Barrie, Lindsay, and Peterborough. The regional headquarters is located in Toronto, with local offices in Brampton, Kitchener, London, and Newmarket.
Positions to be filled: Number to be determined
English essential
Information on language requirements
Education:
• By the time of employment, you will have completed two years of law school at a Canadian university or be registered with the National Committee on Accreditation and be scheduled to commence articling in 2027.
• You should have a good cumulative average in law school and a combination of additional education, training, experience, and/or volunteering.
Knowledge:
• Knowledge of the mandate and role of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada.
• Knowledge of criminal law.
Competencies:
• Analytical skills
• Practice management
• Being action oriented
• Interpersonal skills
• Judgment
• Communication
The following is not essential, but if you possess it, please include it in your application:
• Demonstrated interest in criminal or quasi-criminal litigation.
Conditions of Employment:
• Security Clearance: Secret
The Public Service of Canada is committed to building a skilled and diverse workforce that reflects the Canadians we serve. We promote employment equity and encourage you to indicate if you belong to one of the designated groups when you apply.
Information on employment equity
Preference will be given to veterans first and then to Canadian citizens and permanent residents, with the exception of a job located in Nunavut, where Nunavut Inuit will be appointed first.
Information on the preference to veterans
We thank all those who apply. Only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.