proof on a balance of probabilities

Provisional sentence will be granted when the plaintiff succeeds in discharging his onus of proof on a balance of probabilities, or when the defendant fails to establish a defence on a balance of probabilities.

The Supreme Court of Canada has since emphasized in R. v. Starr that an effective way to explain the concept is to tell the jury that proof beyond a reasonable doubt "falls much closer to absolute certainty than to proof on a balance of probabilities."