Ritu Khullar named Alberta's new chief justice

Court of Appeal of Alberta Justice Ritu Khullar has been named the province's new top judge, CBC News has learned.

Khullar will be the next chief justice of Alberta.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to announce Khullar's appointment later Monday.

Khullar was appointed to the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta in 2017 and then elevated to the Court of Appeal of Alberta in 2018.

The Edmonton-based judge previously practised law with a focus on labour and employment, privacy, administrative, human rights and constitutional issues.

"I wish the Honourable Ritu Khullar every success as she takes on her new role," Trudeau said in a news release.

"She is a respected member of the legal community and brings a wealth of experience in multiple areas of law to the bench."

Khullar takes over the top judicial post from Catherine Fraser. Fraser, the first woman appointed chief justice of a province, retired earlier this year after three decades on the bench.

The top judge in Alberta also serves as chief justice of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut courts of appeal.

Khullar was born in 1964 in Fort Vermilion, Alta., a hamlet 660 kilometres north of Edmonton.

Her parents had immigrated to Canada from India.

She spent her childhood in Morinville, Alta., a town 40 kilometres north of Edmonton.

Khullar earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Alberta and her law degree from the University of Toronto.

Khullar has decades of experience in the legal system.

Throughout her career, she has served on numerous committees of the Canadian Bar Association and has acted pro bono in important cases, including representing Women's Legal Education and Action Fund before the Supreme Court of Canada.

She has also worked with the National Judicial Institute, the Canadian Institute for Administration of Justice and the Legal Education Society of Alberta.