Who gets assigned Contracts?
Contracts is an elective subject — it is not assigned to every NCA candidate. Assignment is based on your individual NCA assessment of your prior legal education, not your nationality. The NCA looks at whether your degree curriculum included sufficient coverage of Canadian common law contract principles.
Candidates from mixed or civil law backgrounds are more likely to be assigned Contracts, as their home systems may use different doctrines (such as the French cause requirement) that do not map directly onto Canadian common law. However, any candidate whose contract law training is assessed as insufficient may receive this elective.
What Contracts covers
The NCA Contracts exam tests general Canadian common law contract principles. Key topic areas include:
- Offer and acceptance — the mechanics of contract formation in Canada
- Consideration — the doctrine that replaces civil law's cause requirement
- Privity of contract — who can enforce a contract
- Terms, conditions, and implied terms
- Breach of contract — types and consequences
- Remedies — expectation damages, reliance damages, specific performance, injunctions
- Good faith as an organizing principle of Canadian contract law
The Supreme Court of Canada established that good faith is a general organizing principle of Canadian contract law. Parties must perform their contractual duties honestly. This was a landmark departure from the traditional English common law position and is frequently tested.
Exam strategy
The NCA Contracts exam is a 3-hour open-book written exam. Because it is open-book, the exam does not reward memorization — it rewards the ability to apply legal rules to fact patterns quickly and clearly.
- Build answer templates for contract formation, breach analysis, and remedies before the exam
- Identify the legal issue first, then apply the relevant rule, then apply to facts (IRAC structure)
- Know Bhasin v Hrynew [2014] SCC 71 inside-out — it appears in multiple exam contexts
- Practice with past problem questions: timed, written answers under exam conditions
- Allocate marks proportionally — don't spend 80% of time on a 20-mark question
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Contracts assigned to all NCA candidates?
No. Contracts is an elective subject assigned based on your individual NCA assessment. Whether you receive it depends on your specific degree curriculum and the contract law coverage in your home jurisdiction — not your nationality.
What is the key difference between Canadian and common law contracts?
Canada does not have a 'cause' doctrine equivalent to French civil law. Instead, consideration does the same work. More importantly, the Supreme Court in Bhasin v Hrynew [2014] SCC 71 established that good faith is an organizing principle of Canadian contract law.
How long does it take to prepare for NCA Contracts?
Most candidates preparing for Contracts allocate 60–100 hours of focused study. The exam is open-book, so the priority is understanding how to apply rules to fact patterns quickly under time pressure.
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