
Steve Lorteau
Education
University of Toronto, LL.M. (Long Thesis), 2021
University of Ottawa, J.D., 2019
University of Ottawa, LL.L. (Civil Law) 2018
University of Ottawa, B.Soc.Sc. (International Development), 2018
Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, DU (Wine Law), 2016
University of Ottawa, B.A. (Philosophy), 2015
Overview
Steve is an SJD student at the University of Toronto and a Long-Term Appointment Professor at the University of Ottawa. Steve has a bijural education with degrees in common law and civil law from the University of Ottawa. Steve’s research focuses on property and environmental law, with a particular emphasis on how legal institutions shape climate change governance. His work examines zoning law, climate litigation, and the political economy of land-use regulation, and increasingly incorporates empirical and psychological approaches to understand the social dimensions of climate-related legal issues. He also maintains a specialized research stream in wine and trademark law. His research has been published in Energy Policy, Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law (RECIEL), The Law Teacher, Journal of Wine Research, and the McGill Journal of Sustainable Development Law. Since 2022, he has served as the Canadian reporter for Jus Vini: Journal of Wine & Spirits Law’s annual chronicles. Steve is also interested in the real-world implications of his research, having (co)authored multiple pieces for The Conversation Canada and served as an expert interviewee for Reuters and The Globe and Mail, among other outlets.
Areas of Interest
- Administrative Law
- Environmental Law
- Intellectual Property Law
- International Law & Policy
- Law & Economics
- Legal Theory
- Property Law
Selected Publications
Peer-reviewed articles
- Steve Lorteau & Doug Sarro, “Artificial Intelligence in Legal Education: A Scoping Review” (2026) The Law Teacher 1-25.
- Steve Lorteau, “Canada 2024: Clarifying Use and Non-Use in Trademark Law” (2025) 1 Jus Vini: Journal of Wine & Spirits Law 99-108.
- Steve Lorteau, Parker Muzzerall, Audrey-Ann Deneault, Emily Huddart Kennedy, Rhéa Rocque, Nicole Racine, & Jean-François Bureau, "Do climate concerns and worries predict energy preferences? A meta-analysis" (2024) 190 Energy Policy 114149
- Steve Lorteau, “The Potential of 'State-as-Polluter' Litigation” (2023) 1 Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law 259.
- Steve Lorteau, “Canada 2022: Place of Origin Descriptors, Amarone, and More Cowbell” (2023) Jus Vini: Journal of Wine & Spirits Law 117.
- Steve Lorteau, “Canada 2021: Disputed Territories, Comparative Advertising, and Trademarks” (2022) 1 Jus Vini: Journal of Wine & Spirits Law 87-102.
- Steve Lorteau, “Contractual Carbon Fees: A Proposal” (2020) 15:2 McGill Journal of Sustainable Development Law 176-201.
- Steve Lorteau, “A Purposive Approach to Wine Regulation: Royal Demaria v Lieutenant Governor in Council” (2019) 2 Jus Vini: Journal of Wine & Spirits Law 231-240.
- Steve Lorteau, “La philosophie du droit systématique de l’encyclopédiste Antoine- Gaspard Boucher d’Argis [The Systematic Jurisprudence of l’Encyclopédiste Antoine-Gaspard Boucher d’Argis]” (2019) 54 Recherches sur Diderot et sur l’Encyclopédie 147-164.
- Steve Lorteau, “A Comparative Analysis of Skin-Contact Wine Definitions in Ontario and South Africa” (2018) 29:4 Journal of Wine Research 265-277.
- Steve Lorteau, “China’s South China Sea Claims as Unprecedented – Skeptical Remarks” (2018) 55 Canadian Yearbook of International Law 1-41.
Book Chapters
- Steve Lorteau & Rakhyun E Kim, “Transnational Litigation Norms” in Daniel J. Fiorino, Todd A. Eisenstadt, & Manjyot Kaur Ahluwalia, eds, Elgar Encyclopedia of Climate Policy (Cheltenham: Elgar Publishing, 2024), pp 209–212.
- Steve Lorteau, “Regulatory Controls in the Canadian Wine Sector” in Theodore Georgopoulos, ed, Administrative controls in the wine sector (Paris: Mare & Martin, 2021), pp 341-367.
Opinion Pieces
- Steve Lorteau, “Cyclists may be right to run stop signs and red lights. Here’s why” The Conversation Canada, 4 November 2025
- Steve Lorteau, & Oliver Chan, “Using the notwithstanding clause to evict the homeless shows the limits of municipal politics.” The Conversation Canada, 27 November 2024
- Parker Muzzerall, Audrey-Ann Deneault, & Steve Lorteau, "Emotions may matter more than facts in shaping individual support for renewable energy, new study shows"The Conversation Canada, 20 June 2024. https://theconversation.com/emotions-may-matter-more-than-facts-in-shapi...
- Steve Lorteau, "Fossil fuel subsidies cost Canadians a lot more money than the carbon tax" The Conversation Canada, 1 April 2024. https://theconversation.com/fossil-fuel-subsidies-cost-canadians-a-lot-m...
- Steve Lorteau & Andrew Green,"How Canadian courts are taking on climate change" The Conversation Canada, 4 January 2024. https://theconversation.com/how-canadian-courts-are-taking-on-climate-ch...
- Steve Lorteau, Audrey-Ann Deneault, Jean-François Bureau & Nicole Racine, "Educate and Empower: The 3 Es to discuss climate change with children" The Conversation Canada, 9 July 2023. https://theconversation.com/engage-educate-and-empower-the-3-es-to-discu...
- Steve Lorteau, “For Fossil-Fuel Reliant Governments, Climate Action Should Start At Home" The Conversation Canada, 19 April 2023. https://theconversation.com/for-fossil-fuel-reliant-governments-climate-...
Professional Affiliations
Law Society of Ontario
Earth System Governance Project Research Fellow
Global Perspectives on Corporate Climate Legal Tactics, International Expert Group Canada
Honours and Awards
SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS-D (2021-2024)
SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS-M (2020-2021)
Robert Law Fellowship in Legal Ethics (2020-2021)
Environmental Law Essay Contest Prize, Center for Environmental Law and Global Sustainability (2019)
Me Anwar Chami Scholarship for excellence in studies in international law (2018)
Second Best Oralist, Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition (2017)