Matthew practices complex, high-stakes corporate litigation, with a focus on energy, construction, insurance, and securities disputes. He is known for his strategic, commercially grounded approach to litigation and for advancing clients’ interests with a focus on achieving practical results, whether through the courts or negotiated resolution.
Matthew’s practice spans all aspects of construction law, including disputes involving contracts and specifications, construction liens, delay and disruption claims, negligence claims, and bond and insurance disputes.
A significant portion of Matthew’s practice involves disputes arising from resource, energy, and infrastructure assets, including mining, power generation, renewables, pipelines, midstream facilities, and other resource-related projects. He has acted for project owners and operators in commercial disputes involving project construction, power transmission, equipment supply, and claims against contractors, manufacturers, and other key counterparties.
Matthew also advises energy companies on environmental and climate change litigation risk. He regularly speaks and writes on climate change litigation in Canada and abroad.
Representative Work
- Confidential Client – acted in multiple successful, high-value arbitrations, including disputes involving transmission assets and the construction of renewables facilities
- Confidential Clients – acted for project owners in multiple confidential disputes involving wind turbine suppliers, including claims relating to turbine performance, defects, construction issues, and project delays
- Coalspur Mines Operations – acting in a $75M construction dispute relating to failed structural steel connections
- Trans Mountain Canada – in successful injunction and contempt proceedings relating to the Trans Mountain Expansion at the British Columbia Supreme Court
- Shell Canada – Successfully obtaining a permanent injunction for Shell Canada (as lead counsel) in the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta
- Williams Group, Inter Pipeline, and affiliated companies – successfully defended a $1 billion commercial dispute relating to a proposed Alberta energy facility, involving contract and tort claims analogous to large-scale power and infrastructure project disputes, resulting in dismissal of all claims and significant cost awards
- VAALCO Energy – in its US$307 million business combination with TransGlobe
- Several confidential clients – providing advice regarding climate change risk disclosure and climate litigation risk
- Williams Group, Inter Pipeline, and affiliated companies – successfully defended a $1 billion commercial dispute relating to a proposed Alberta energy facility, involving contract and tort claims analogous to large-scale power and infrastructure project disputes, resulting in dismissal of all claims and significant cost awards
- VAALCO Energy – in its US$307 million business combination with TransGlobe
- Several confidential clients – providing advice regarding climate change risk disclosure and climate litigation risk
Latest Insights
-
Blog December 13, 2024
Amendments coming to Alberta’s Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act and Public Works Act
Changes to the Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act and Public Works Act aim to streamline payment processes and adjudication rules.
Read more
-
Blog June 19, 2024
Alberta Court releases first decision addressing adjudication under Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act
The Alberta Court released its first decision addressing the streamlined adjudication process under the Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act. In...
Read more -
Osler Update December 5, 2023
Alberta introduces new ‘streamlined trial’ process, replacing summary trials
Last month, Alberta amended its Rules of Court to introduce a new “streamlined trial” process. We look at what’s behind the change, how it...
Read more -
Blog November 13, 2023
Alberta Court finds non-party bound to arbitrate when enforcing contractual warranties
A recent Alberta case found that beneficiaries of contractual warranties may be bound to arbitrate disputes arising from those contractual...
Read more
Awards and Recognition
-
Recognized in Litigation – General Commercial (Alberta)
—Chambers Canada
Media Mentions
-
Osler News February 16, 2021
Osler welcomes 12 new partners and 2 new counsel in 2021
Osler is proud to announce the addition of 12 new partners and two new counsel across five of our offices, effective March 1, 2021.
Read more
Community Involvement
Matthew is active in the Calgary community. He previously served as Chair of the Board of Brown Bagging for Calgary Kids Society, a local charity that provides lunches to approximately 7,000 children each school day.
He is also active in the legal community in Calgary and nationally. Matthew formerly served as an appointed member of The Advocates’ Society Young Advocates’ Standing Committee, where he participated in multiple national working groups focused on advocacy, practice development, and professional education, and as a member of the Alberta Regional Advisory Committee. He is also an instructor in the University of Calgary Faculty of Law’s Trial Advocacy Program.
Speaking and Writing
Speaking Engagements
Energy Security Cubed Podcast: Climate Litigation – Climate over Security?
Read morePublished Work
“The Impact of Private Climate Change Litigation and Recent Competition Act Amendments on the Canadian Energy Sector: Regulatory and Legal Developments Shaping the Path Forward”, Alberta Law Review, Volume 63, Issue 2, November, 2025 (co-author)
Quoted in “Can Big Oil be made to pay like Big Tobacco?“, by Doug Beazley, CBA/ABC National, November 21, 2024
“Climate Change and the Right to a Healthy Environment in the Canadian Constitution“, Canadian Energy Law Foundation, August 12, 2020 (co-author)
“An early chapter in climate change litigation“, CBA National, June 1, 2020 (co-author)
“COVID-19 Evolving Legal Considerations in the Canadian Market”, Update: Mar 17, 2020 (co-author)
“Exxon wins first climate change disclosure securities fraud case”, Update: Dec 17, 2019 (co-author)
“Climate change litigation arrives in Canada”, (co-author, February 5, 2019).
“First of its kind – Ontario NDP tables civil liability for climate change bill”, Update: Apr 3, 2018 (co-author)
“Defining industry-specific contractual terms: Supreme Court of Canada revisits principles of contractual interpretation“, (co-author, February 16, 2017).
“Is it Unethical to Not Understand E-Discovery? Professional Liability and Discipline Litigation”, Volume XVI, No. 2, p 981-984, (co-author, 2015).
“Canada 2013 Year in Review, FCPA Professor”, (co-author, January 14, 2014).
Credentials
Education
- Dalhousie University, J.D.
- International Law School Exchange, Lund University, Sweden
- University of Toronto B.A. (Hon.)
Languages
- English
Professional Affiliations
- ICC Canada Arbitration Committee
- The Law Society of British Columbia
- The Advocates' Society
- The Defense Research Institute
- The Canadian Bar Association
- The Calgary Bar Association
- The Canadian Energy Law Foundation
- Young Professionals in Energy
