Book Review: Frustration of Contract

Several times each month, we are pleased to republish a recent book review from the Canadian Law Library Review (CLLR). CLLR is the official journal of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL/ACBD), and its reviews cover both practice-oriented and academic publications related to the law.

Frustration of Contract. By Bruce MacDougall. Toronto: LexisNexis, 2025. x, 316 p. Includes table of cases and index. ISBN 9780433524380 (softcover) $180.00.

Reviewed by Susannah Tredwell
Manager of Library Services
DLA Piper (Canada) LLP

Frustration of Contract is the latest in the series of books written by Bruce MacDougall about contract law. Published by LexisNexis Canada, his earlier titles include Estoppel (2019), Misrepresentation and (Dis)Honest Performance in Contracts (2018), and Mistake in Contracting (2021).

As promised by the publisher, Frustration of Contract is “a comprehensive treatment of the law of frustration in Canada,” and the first to focus purely on this topic. The book has six chapters: “Nature of Frustration,” “Reasons for Frustration,” “Factors Mitigating against Frustration,” “Particular Situations,” “Procedural and Evidentiary Issues,” and “Consequences of Frustration.”

Since understanding what frustration is (or isn’t) underpins the book, the first chapter starts with what defines frustration (there are many definitions). MacDougall focuses on the second part of the Supreme Court of Canada’s definition in Naylor Group Inc v Ellis-Don Construction Ltd, 2001 SCC 58 (“a thing radically different from that which was undertaken by the contract”) and delves into “what can be said to constitute a situation that is ‘radically different’ from what the parties undertook in their contract” (p. 19). It can be incredibly complex to determine whether frustration has arisen. MacDougall refers to the “coronation cases” later in the book to illustrate that case law is not always consistent in determining whether frustration has occurred. These cases involved contracts for places where people could view the events of King Edward VII’s coronation in 1902. However, when the coronation was postponed, the reason for renting these spaces no longer existed. In the majority—but not all— of these cases, the contract was found not to be frustrated.

Chapter 2 covers reasons why a contract might be frustrated, including impossibility, illegality and restrictions, and thwarted assumptions. Chapter 3 looks at arguments against frustration. For example, when an event frustrating a contract occurs before the contract was made, then the contract should have taken this into account. In Chapter 4, MacDougall highlights four areas where the issue of frustration is likely to arise—land contracts, goods contracts, labour contracts, and shipping contracts—and Chapter 5 deals with evidentiary issues and procedural questions such as “who can raise frustration?”

The concluding chapter discusses the various provincial Frustration of Contracts acts and the differences between the three main models implemented in Canada. There are also other pieces of legislation, such as Sale of Goods acts and employment statutes, which address the issue of frustration in specific areas. Although these are not discussed in this chapter, they are referenced elsewhere in the book.

I did have one minor quibble: the index appears to be an alphabetized version of the table of contents, which does not add value to the work. However, the book also includes a table of cases and a table of statutes, both of which are helpful.

This book is an excellent addition to the contracts section of any law library. MacDougall’s other texts are frequently consulted by my library users, and I imagine the same will be true with Frustration of Contract.