What is the test for abuse of public office in Canada?

The test for the tort of abuse of public office in Canada was discussed in Roncarelli v. Duplessis, where the actions of the Attorney General of a province were characterized as a “gross abuse of legal power expressly intended to punish [the claimant] for an act wholly irrelevant to the statute”: 1959 CanLII 50 (SCC), [1959] S.C.R. 121 at 141-142 (“Roncarelli”). The acts of the Attorney General were “without legal justification” and were a breach of an implied public statutory duty towards the claimant. The judgment of Rand J. in that case was described by the appeal judge as adopting a test of “targeted malice”. As the appeal judge noted, the case law attaches importance to proof of the mental element related to the improper purpose of the government agent, and to proof of the knowledge of the agent that the conduct exceeds the scope of lawful authority and that the agent proceeds notwithstanding such state of mind.