Is mediation mandatory in small claims?
Short answer
In Quebec, mediation is mandatory where the contested claim is $5,000 or less, not counting interest. It has applied in every judicial district since March 2026, at the end of a rollout that began in November 2023.
In detail
The mechanism is automatic: once the claim has been filed and contested, the courthouse puts you in contact with a mediator, who will get in touch with you. There is nothing for you to sign up for. Above $5,000, mediation is still possible, but on request.
Three categories of cases escape the obligation: those where the parties ask for a judgment on the face of the record; those that call into question the constitutional or regulatory validity of a provision; and those that involve the charters of rights. An exemption can also be requested for a serious reason — for example a protection order issued by the court, or a mediation already attempted for the same dispute.
If you reach an agreement, the file is closed. If there is no agreement, the file is automatically sent to arbitration where it is eligible, or to trial.
What to document
Before the mediation: the exact amount claimed, what you are prepared to accept, and why. Afterwards: the precise content of the agreement, with the amounts, the payment dates and what each side undertakes to do. A vague agreement turns back into a dispute.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
Open the application Up to 3 files, no card · see the plans
Official sources
- Mandatory mediation in small claims — Gouvernement du Québec
- Mandatory mediation and arbitration in small claims now in place across Quebec — Gouvernement du Québec
Related questions
- Does small claims mediation cost anything?
- What is arbitration in small claims?
- How do I bring a witness to small claims?
- Do I have to pay my witness in small claims?
- I can't be there on the day of the hearing what do I do?
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.