Prime Minister Justin Trudeau nominated Ontario judge Michelle O'Bonsawin to the Supreme Court of Canada on Friday.

She is the first Indigenous person to be selected to sit on Canada's highest court, and this appointment is celebrated as playing an important role at the highest level in the country's justice system.

O'Bonsawin has served as a judge at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Ottawa since 2017, and according to the Prime Minister's Office, she has "experience in mental health, Gladue principles, labor and employment law, human rights, and privacy."

Before making history as the first Indigenous woman to become a judge at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, O'Bonsawin was the general counsel for the Royal Ottawa Hospital, a specialized mental health hospital in Ottawa.

She began her legal career with the Legal Services of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and also worked as a legal advisor at Canada Post.

In addition to teaching Indigenous law at the University of Ottawa and serving on its Board of Governors, O'Bonsawin successfully defended her doctoral thesis earlier this year on the application of Gladue principles, which are ways for courts to consider the experiences of Indigenous peoples in sentencing decisions.