Words and Phrases - "habitual abode"

Campbell J. found that the taxpayer's habitual abode was in Canada. She stated at para. 30:

It follows that the proper approach to determining whether the Appellant had an habitual abode in the United States is to enquire whether he resided there habitually, in the sense that he regularly, customarily or usually lived in the United States. Paragraphs 27 to 32 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Issue contain pertinent statements which assist in the determination of whether the Appellant "normally lived" in the United States. It was agreed between the parties that the Appellant "consistently and repeatedly returned to his home in Canada for the majority of the days in this period." In the settled routine of his life "he regularly, normally and customarily lived in Canada." He "did not have any other contracts clients or business in the USA." In addition, he spent only 69 days out of 623 days in the relevant period at his home in the United States.

In the Court of Appeal, Létourneau JA (at para. 6, 8) indicated "in light of the clearer French version" ("séjourne de façon habituelle") that "habitual abode"

refers to a stay of some substance in the jurisdiction as a matter of habit, so that the conclusion can be drawn that this is where the taxpayer normally lives....This is also consistent with commentary on Article IV(2) of the OECD Model....