Andrews cap
The Canadian non-pecuniary damages cap established by the 1978 Supreme Court trilogy of Andrews v Grand & Toy Alberta Ltd., Thornton v Prince George School District, and Arnold v Teno.
What it means in practice.
Set originally at C$100,000 in 1978 dollars, indexed by Bank of Canada CPI; the present-day ceiling sits in the C$400,000s for the most catastrophic cases. Applies to non-pecuniary loss only.
The Andrews cap is the upper limit on non-pecuniary damages in Canada, the award for pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. It comes from a 1978 trilogy of Supreme Court of Canada decisions led by Andrews v. Grand & Toy Alberta Ltd., which fixed the limit at $100,000.
Courts adjust that figure for inflation. In a 2025 British Columbia judgment the parties and the court worked from an adjusted figure of approximately $470,000, and the court awarded the full amount to a young woman left with a severe brain injury.
The cap applies only to non-pecuniary damages. Lost earnings and the cost of future care are not capped and can run to millions. British Columbia courts have also held that the cap does not apply to sexual assault or other intentional torts involving criminal behaviour.
How it works, step by step.
| British Columbia decision, 2025 | Non-pecuniary award | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Funk v. White, severe brain injury at 18 | $470,000, the upper limit | Funk v. White, 2025 BCSC 2001 |
| Sauve v. McComish, intersection collision | $250,000 of a $796,510 award | Sauve v. McComish, 2025 BCSC 691 |
| Poonia v. Yazzie, two crashes | $220,000 of a $3,227,480 award | Poonia v. Yazzie, 2025 BCSC 1334 |
| Wei v. Ahmad, pedestrian with a shattered kneecap | $150,000 of a $505,829.66 award | Wei v. Ahmad, 2025 BCSC 623 |
| Suico v. Liu, low speed collision | $85,000 of a $119,625 award | Suico v. Liu, 2025 BCSC 114 |
| Wells v. Pound, sexual assault | The cap does not apply to intentional torts involving criminal behaviour | Wells v. Pound, 2025 BCSC 1295 |
A worked example.
An award at the limit: Funk v. White (B.C. 2025)
- Accident
- Struck by a commercial dump truck on a highway in Sparwood, 3 October 2011, age 18
- Injury
- Severe traumatic brain injury
- Claimed in total
- Over $19 million
- Non-pecuniary damages
- $470,000, the inflation adjusted upper limit
- Future income loss
- $455,000; in trust claim $1,426,250
The defendants argued she remained capable of happiness and should not receive the upper limit. The court disagreed. Future care costs were left to be calculated on the court’s findings.