You have a valid claim. Someone owes you money, damaged your property, or caused you loss. You sit on it. You tell yourself you will deal with it next year. Then another year passes. By the time you walk into a lawyer’s office, the court cannot help you. Not because your claim was weak. Because the deadline has expired.
This is the rule most people never hear about until it is too late. Alberta’s Limitations Act, RSA 2000, c L-12, sets hard time limits on when you can file a civil claim. Miss the deadline and your right to sue is gone. The merits of your case become irrelevant.
The Two-Year Rule (and the Ten-Year Ceiling)
Section 3 of the Limitations Act sets out two deadlines that run at the same time. Whichever one expires first ends your claim.
The two-year discovery rule. Under s. 3(1)(a), you have two years from the date you knew, or ought to have known, the basic facts of your claim. Most civil claims in Alberta fall under this rule: breach of contract, negligence, property damage, unpaid debts, professional malpractice, construction disputes, and more.
The ten-year ultimate limit. Under s. 3(1)(b), no matter when you discovered the claim, you cannot sue more than ten years after the act or omission that caused the harm. The ten-year clock runs in the background regardless of whether you knew anything happened.
The two periods operate together. If you discovered your claim today based on something that happened nine years ago, you have one year to sue, not two. The ultimate limit caps the discovery rule.
When the Clock Actually Starts
This is where most people get it wrong. The two-year clock does not start on the date of the injury. It starts on the date you knew, or reasonably should have known, three things under s. 3(1)(a):
- That an injury attributable to someone’s conduct has occurred.
- That the injury was caused by the conduct of the defendant.
- That the injury warrants bringing a proceeding.
Take a simple example. A contractor builds you a deck in 2020. In 2024, the deck collapses because of defective workmanship that was hidden inside the framing. Your two years does not run from 2020. It runs from the date in 2024 when you knew, or reasonably should have known, the contractor was responsible.
The phrase “ought to have known” is doing real work here. Courts look at what a reasonable person in your position would have investigated. If the warning signs were there and you ignored them, the clock may have started sooner than you think. Discoverability is not a free pass to delay.
The Exceptions
The Act carves out specific categories where the usual two-year and ten-year rules bend or disappear.
Minors and persons under disability. Under s. 5, the limitation clock is suspended while a claimant is a minor or a person under disability. If a child is injured today, the two-year clock does not start running until the child turns 18. For an adult lacking mental capacity, the clock is suspended during the period of incapacity.
Sexual assault and misconduct of a sexual nature. Under s. 3.1, there is no limitation period for a claim relating to sexual assault or battery, or any misconduct of a sexual nature. This was added by the legislature in 2017 through An Act to Remove Barriers for Survivors of Sexual and Domestic Violence, SA 2017, c 7. A survivor can bring a civil claim at any time, regardless of how many decades have passed.
Fraudulent concealment. Under s. 4, where the defendant fraudulently conceals the fact that an injury has occurred, the ten-year ultimate limit is suspended for the period of the concealment. You do not lose your claim because the wrongdoer successfully hid the wrongdoing.
Acknowledgement and part payment. Under s. 8, if a debtor acknowledges the debt in writing, or makes a part payment, before the limitation period expires, the clock restarts. This matters in collections and commercial disputes. A single written acknowledgement can buy two more years. It must be in writing, signed, and given to the creditor to count.
Different Claims, Different Nuances
The two-year rule captures most civil claims, but the trigger date shifts depending on what kind of claim you have.
Contract. For breach of contract, the clock generally starts on the date of the breach. If payment was due on January 1, 2026, and was not made, discoverability is immediate. You have two years from that date unless discoverability is delayed for some reason.
Tort. For negligence and other torts, the clock starts on the date you discovered, or ought to have discovered, the injury and who caused it. Personal injury, property damage, and professional negligence all fall under this analysis. In medical cases the discovery date can be well after the treatment itself.
Unjust enrichment and restitution. The two-year period applies, but identifying the start date can be more complicated. Courts look at when the claimant knew the defendant had been unjustly enriched at their expense.
Enforcement of judgments. Under s. 11, if you have already obtained a judgment and the debtor has not paid, you have ten years from the date the claim arose to seek a remedial order. Write this down if you have a judgment sitting in your file. Old judgments expire, and you lose the ability to enforce. This is separate from the two-year rule because the claim has already been decided. What you are enforcing is the judgment itself.
Contribution claims between defendants. If you are sued and want to claim contribution from another party, the Limitations Act sets its own discoverability rule for contribution. The two-year period runs from when you were served with the claim that triggers the contribution demand.
What You Actually Do About It
Here is the part that trips people up. Nothing short of commencing a court proceeding stops the limitation clock.
Writing a demand letter does not stop the clock. Sending emails to the other side does not stop the clock. Starting settlement discussions does not stop the clock. Complaining to a regulator does not stop the clock. Filing a claim in a different forum does not stop the clock. The only thing that stops it is filing a Statement of Claim with the court, or the equivalent originating document, within the limitation period.
If the other side is dragging out negotiations while your deadline approaches, do not wait for the handshake. File the claim. You can always settle after. Once the deadline has passed, you have no leverage left, because you have no claim.
If you have a written acknowledgement of debt, keep it. Under s. 8 it restarts the clock. But you still need to file within two years of the acknowledgement.
If you are unsure when your clock started, assume the earliest plausible date. Miscalculating in the defendant’s favour costs you nothing. Miscalculating in your own favour costs you the claim.
Get legal advice before you are anywhere near the deadline. Good evidence disappears over time. Witnesses move. Documents get lost. Memories fade. Even if the deadline is still months away, a claim filed early is usually stronger than a claim filed on the final day.
If you think you may have a civil claim and are unsure how much time you have left, contact our office now. Learn more about our civil litigation services. The sooner the file is reviewed, the more options you have.