Most people involved in Ontario litigation know the general rule: you have two years to sue. Under section 4 of the Limitations Act, 2002, a proceeding must be commenced within two years of the day the claim was discovered. Section 15 adds a backstop. The ultimate limitation period of 15 years from the date the act or omission occurred, regardless of when the claim was discovered.

What many litigants and even some practitioners overlook is that dozens of Ontario statutes carve out their own limitation periods that override the general two-year rule. These special limitation periods are preserved under section 19 of the Limitations Act and listed in the Schedule to the Limitations Act.

Missing one of these statutory deadlines can be fatal to a claim, no matter how meritorious. This article explains how section 19 works, provides a summary table of key exceptions, and introduces our free interactive tool that lets you search all 68 special limitation periods currently in the Schedule.

How Section 19 Works

Section 19(1) of the Limitations Act provides that a limitation period set out in another Ontario statute is of no effect unless the provision establishing it is listed in the Schedule. In other words, the Legislature consolidated all valid special limitation periods into one list. If a limitation period in another Act is not on the Schedule, the default two-year period applies.

Section 19 also provides that the general rules about suspension for minors and persons under disability (sections 6 and 7) and tolling for willful concealment (section 17) still apply to the special limitation periods in the Schedule, unless the specific statute says otherwise.

This means that the Schedule is the single authoritative list of every statutory limitation period in Ontario that departs from the two-year default.

Summary Table: Selected Special Limitation Periods

The table below shows a selection of the most commonly encountered special limitation periods. For the complete searchable list of all 68 provisions, including detailed notes, section references, and source links, use our free interactive tool:

How to Use the Interactive Tool for Special Limitation Periods

We built the Schedule of Special Limitation Periods tool to make it easy to find exceptions relevant to your matter.

You can search by Act name, provision, or section number, click any entry to expand detailed notes explaining when the period begins to run and other context, and copy a formatted citation for use in your own documents.

The tool covers all 68 provisions currently listed in the Schedule to section 19 of the Limitations Act, and is updated to reflect the current text of the statute.

Don’t Forget the General Rule

While this article focuses on exceptions, the vast majority of Ontario claims are still governed by the standard limitation periods under the Limitations Act, 2002: 2-year basic limitation period (s. 4) — from the date the claim was discovered, and 15-year ultimate limitation period (s. 15) — from the date of the act or omission.

If your claim does not fall under one of the exceptions in the Schedule, the general rule applies. Use our Limitations Period Calculator to determine when your general limitation period expires.

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you have questions about your limitation period or legal rights, you should consult a licensed lawyer in Ontario.

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