Marriage in Canada

The Parliament of Canada has exclusive legislative authority over marriage and divorce in Canada under section 91(26) of the Constitution Act, 1867. However, section 92(12) of the Constitution Act, 1867 gives the provincial legislatures the power to pass laws regulating the solemnization of marriage.

The marriage rate in Canada has been declining over the years. In 2001, there were 146,618 marriages in Canada, down 6.8% from 157,395 in 2000, but by 2020, there were only 98,355 marriages registered in Canada, which was the lowest total since 1938. Prince Edward Island had the highest crude marriage rate (6.5 per 1,000 people) and Quebec had the lowest (3.0).

Marriage ceremonies in Canada can be either civil or religious. Marriages may be performed by members of the clergy, marriage commissioners, judges, justices of the peace or clerks of the court, depending on the laws of each province and territory regulating marriage solemnization. In 2001, the majority of Canadian marriages (76.4%) were religious, with the remainder (23.6%) being performed by non-clergy.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Canada nationally since 2005. Court decisions, starting in 2003, had already legalized same-sex marriage in eight out of ten provinces and one of three territories.

Restrictions Consanguinity The federal Marriage (Prohibited Degrees) Act, Section 2Marriage (Prohibited Degrees) Act, SC 1990, c. 46. prevents the following persons from getting married:

Subject to subsection (2), persons related by consanguinity, affinity or adoption are not prohibited from marrying each other by reason only of their relationship. No person shall marry another person if they are related lineally, or as brother or sister or half-brother or half-sister, including by adoption.

Consent of spouses Both parties must freely consent. Forcing somebody to get married is a criminal offence under s. 293.1 of the Criminal Code.Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c. C-46. In addition, s. 2.1 of the Civil Marriage Act stipulates, "Marriage requires the free and enlightened consent of two persons to be the spouse of each other."Civil Marriage Act, SC 2005, c. 33.

Age of spouses Since 2015, federal law has set the absolute minimum marriageable age at 16.Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act, SC 2015, c 29, http://canlii.ca/t/52m2q retrieved on 2018-06-24 Provinces and territories may set a minimum age higher than that. In Canada the age of majority is set by province/territory at 18 or 19, so persons under this age have additional restrictions (i.e. parental and court consent). Section 293.2 of the Criminal Code also addresses marriages of individuals under the age of 16, reading: Everyone who celebrates, aids or participates in a marriage rite or ceremony knowing that one of the persons being married is under the age of 16 years is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years. Section 2.2 of the Civil Marriage Act also states: No person who is under the age of 16 years may contract marriage. These provisions were enacted in 2015. Before 2015, it was possible for children less than 16 years old to get married in some jurisdictions of Canada, with parental consent or a court order. (The legal marriage age with parental consent was possibly as low as 7 in some Canadian jurisdictions.)

Minimum age by province and territory British Columbia: 19, or 16 with parental consent. Alberta: 18, or 16 with consent of all parents and legal guardians. Saskatchewan: 18, or 16 with a "Consent to Marriage of a Minor" form signed and completed by the parent(s) or guardian(s) in the presence of a Saskatchewan marriage licence issuer, clergy or any person authorized to take affidavits. "If the parent(s) or guardian(s) refuse to consent to the marriage, the minor can apply to a judge of either the provincial or Queen's Bench court for an order dispensing with their consent. The minor may obtain the judge's order by applying to a court house in Saskatchewan." Manitoba: 18, or 16 (with judicial consent). Ontario: 18, or 16 with written consent from both sets of parents. Quebec: 18, or 16 with authorization from the courts. New Brunswick: 18, or 16 with an affidavit of consent signed by parents or guardians. Nova Scotia: 19, or 16 with a signed consent form. Prince Edward Island: 18, or 16 with a consent form signed by parent(s). Newfoundland and Labrador: 19, or younger wherein "special consents may be required." Yukon: 19, or younger with consent of parent(s) or legal guardian(s). Northwest Territories: 19, or younger with parental consent. Nunavut: 19, or 16 with parental consent.

Divorce + Divorce rates in Canada per 100,000 YearRate1950 39.31951 37.61952 39.11953 41.51954 38.71955 38.61956 37.31957 40.31958 36.81959 37.41960 39.11961 36.01962 36.41963 40.61964 44.71965 45.71966 51.21967 54.81968 54.81969 124.21970 139.81971 135.21972 145.81973 163.21974 197.41975 218.71976 231.21977 233.41978 238.51979 245.71980 253.01981 272.61982 280.41983 270.31984 254.51985 239.81986 300.01987 363.81988 311.71989 296.91990 283.41991 274.71992 278.61993 272.71994 272.01995 264.91996 241.61997 225.41998 229.11999 233.22000 231.82001 229.22002 223.82003 223.92004 218.02005 221.02006 229.32007 222.22008 210.82009 206.92010 204.92011 199.62012 197.42013 187.62014 177.02015 170.82016 172.82017 170.42018 165.52019 151.42020 112.9 Termination of marriage in Canada is covered by the federal Divorce Act.

A divorce may be granted for one of the following reasons: the marriage has irretrievably broken down, and the two parties have been living apart for a year (s.8(2)(a) of the Act) one party has committed adultery (s.8(2)(b)(i) of the Act) one party has treated the other party "with physical or mental cruelty of such a kind as to render intolerable the continued cohabitation of the spouses" (s.8(2)(b)(ii) of the Act)

Key headings of the Divorce Act:

InterpretationInterpretation. Canadian Legal Information Institute. JurisdictionJurisdiction. Canadian Legal Information Institute. DivorceDivorce. Canadian Legal Information Institute. Child support ordersChild support orders. Canadian Legal Information Institute. Spousal support ordersSpousal support orders. Canadian Legal Information Institute. PriorityPriority. Canadian Legal Information Institute. Custody ordersCustody orders. Canadian Legal Information Institute. Variation, rescission or suspension of ordersVariation, rescission or suspension of orders. Canadian Legal Information Institute. Provisional ordersProvisional orders. Canadian Legal Information Institute. AppealsAppeals. Canadian Legal Information Institute. GeneralGeneral. Canadian Legal Information Institute.

Divorce rates by year This chart, with data from Statistics Canada, shows the amount of divorces per 100,000 residents of Canada from 1950 to 2020.

Divorce rates in Canada by year of marriage This chart, with data from Statistics Canada, shows the amount of marriages from 1955 to 2004 that ultimately ended in divorce. The data was collected in 2004.

Polygamy

In Canada, polygamy is a criminal offence, but prosecutions are rare. In March 2014, Winston Blackmore and James Oler were charged with polygamy; their prosecutions were the first such cases in Canada in over sixty-five years. In 2007, an independent prosecutor in British Columbia recommended that Canadian courts be asked to rule on the constitutionality of laws against polygamy. The Supreme Court of British Columbia upheld Canada's polygamy laws in a 2011 reference case.

On March 9, 2018, the Supreme Court of British Columbia reaffirmed the constitutionality of Canada's anti-polygamy laws, upholding the July 2017 polygamy convictions of Winston Blackmore and James Oler.

See also Concubinage in Canada

Notes

References