The primary focus of a tort action is the issue of whether the plaintiff can establish the defendant's liability according to the necessary elements of the tort cause of action alleged. Torts embodies a wide variety of causes of action such as assault, trespass to property, defamation, nuisance and negligence. A plaintiff in a civil action must establish the liability of the defendant on a balance of probabilities. If the plaintiff meets the burden of proof on the issue of liability, the focus of the trial shifts to the assessment of the damages to which the plaintiff is entitled to compensate for the wrongdoing. A tort action proceeds according to the rules of civil procedure that apply in the province in which the tort action is commenced by a writ or statement of claim.
Criminal law falls within the purview of federal jurisdiction under the Canadian Constitution.
Criminal law is primarily concerned with the vindication of public law and order. Only recently have reforms been implemented to allow for victim impact statements to be admitted before the criminal court. Victims of crime certainly do not have carriage of the proceedings before the criminal court. Both these areas of law fall within the realm of civil law and the common remedy for breach of contract as well as for commission of a tort would be damages. The difference lies in the appropriate measure of damages which applies for tort and contract.