Marriage in Canada explained

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,^[1] but by 2020, there were only 98,355 marriages registered in Canada, which was the lowest total since 1938.^[2] 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.

Marriage restrictions

Consanguinity

The federal Marriage (Prohibited Degrees) Act, Section 2^[3] prevents the following persons from getting married:

1. Subject to subsection (2), persons related by consanguinity, affinity or adoption are not prohibited from marrying each other by reason only of their relationship.
2. 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 the spouses

Both parties must freely consent. Forcing somebody to get married is a criminal offence under s. 293.1 of the Criminal Code.^[4] 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."^[5]

Age of the spouses

Since 2015, federal law has set the absolute minimum marriageable age at 16.^[6] Provinces and territories may set a minimum age higher than that.^[7] In Canada the age of majority is set by province/territory at 18 or 19, so minors 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.^[4] Section 2.2 of the Civil Marriage Act also states: No person who is under the age of 16 years may contract marriage.^[5] These provisions were enacted in 2015.^{[8] [9] [10]} 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.^{[7] [11]} (The legal marriage age with parental consent was possibly as low as 7 in some Canadian jurisdictions.^{[12] [13]})

Minimum age by province and territory

• British Columbia: 19, or 16 with parental consent.^{[14] [15]}
• Alberta: 18, or 16 with consent of all parents and legal guardians.^[16]
• 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."^[17]
• Manitoba: 18, or 16 (with judicial consent).^[18]
• Ontario: 18, or 16 with written consent from both sets of parents.^[19]
• Quebec: 18, or 16 with authorization from the courts.^[20]
• New Brunswick: 18, or 16 with an affidavit of consent signed by parents or guardians.^[21]
• Nova Scotia: 19, or 16 with a signed consent form.^[22]
• Prince Edward Island: 18, or 16 with a consent form signed by parent(s).^[23]
• Newfoundland and Labrador: 19, or younger wherein "special consents may be required."^[24]
• Yukon: 19, or younger with consent of parent(s) or legal guardian(s).^[25]
• Northwest Territories: 19, or younger with parental consent.^[26]
• Nunavut: 19, or 16 with parental consent.^[27]

Divorce

Year!Rate

1950	39.3
1951	37.6
1952	39.1
1953	41.5
1954	38.7
1955	38.6
1956	37.3
1957	40.3
1958	36.8
1959	37.4
1960	39.1
1961	36.0
1962	36.4
1963	40.6
1964	44.7
1965	45.7
1966	51.2
1967	54.8
1968	54.8
1969	124.2
1970	139.8
1971	135.2
1972	145.8
1973	163.2
1974	197.4
1975	218.7
1976	231.2
1977	233.4
1978	238.5
1979	245.7
1980	253.0
1981	272.6
1982	280.4
1983	270.3
1984	254.5
1985	239.8
1986	300.0
1987	363.8
1988	311.7
1989	296.9
1990	283.4
1991	274.7
1992	278.6
1993	272.7
1994	272.0
1995	264.9
1996	241.6
1997	225.4
1998	229.1
1999	233.2
2000	231.8
2001	229.2
2002	223.8
2003	223.9
2004	218.0
2005	221.0
2006	229.3
2007	222.2
2008	210.8

Termination of marriage in Canada is covered by the federal Divorce Act.^[28]

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:

• Interpretation^[29]
• Jurisdiction^[30]
• Divorce^[31]
• Child support orders^[32]
• Spousal support orders^[33]
• Priority^[34]
• Custody orders^[35]
• Variation, rescission or suspension of orders^[36]
• Provisional orders^[37]
• Appeals^[38]
• General^[39]

Divorce rates in Canada by year

This chart, with data from Statistics Canada, shows the amount of divorces per 100,000 residents of Canada from 1950 to 2008.

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.^[40]

Polygamy

See main article: Polygamy in North America. In Canada, polygamy is a criminal offence,^[4] but prosecutions are rare. In March 2014, Winston Blackmore and James Oler were charged with polygamy;^[41] their prosecutions were the first such cases in Canada in over sixty-five years.^[42] In 2007, an independent prosecutor in British Columbia recommended that Canadian courts be asked to rule on the constitutionality of laws against polygamy.^[43] The Supreme Court of British Columbia upheld Canada's polygamy laws in a 2011 reference case.^[44]

On March 9, 2018, the Supreme Court of British Columbia reaffirmed the constitutionality of Canada's anti-polygamy laws,^[45] upholding the July 2017 polygamy convictions of Winston Blackmore and James Oler.^[46]

See also

• Concubinage in Canada

Notes and References

1. Web site: Marriage: “I do”? More like “I don’t” . December 12, 2022 . Statistics Canada.
2. Web site: Marriages . The Daily . November 20, 2003 . Statistics Canada.
3. http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/M-2.1/page-1.html Marriage (Prohibited Degrees) Act
4. http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/page-70.html Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c. C-46.
5. http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-31.5/page-1.html Civil Marriage Act, SC 2005, c. 33.
6. Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act, SC 2015, c 29, http://canlii.ca/t/52m2q retrieved on 2018-06-24
7. Web site: Legislative Summary of Bill S-7: An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the Civil Marriage Act and the Criminal Code and to make consequential amendments to other Acts . 2015-01-26 . 2018-06-24 . Library of Parliament . Julie Béchard . Sandra Elgersma . Julia Nicol .
8. Government of Canada . Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act receives Royal Assent . https://web.archive.org/web/20150623052734/http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=989099 . dead . 2015-06-23 . 2015-06-18 . 2015-06-23.
9. Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act: Order Fixing the Day on which this Order is registered as the Day on which Part 3 of the Act Comes into Force . Canada Gazette Extra . 149 . 3 . 2015-07-17 . 2018-06-24.
10. Web site: 'Barbaric cultural practices' bill debate limited by Conservatives . The legislation, bill S-7, originated in the Senate and would make it illegal for anyone under 16 to get married. . CBC.ca . 2015-03-12 . 2018-06-24 . Laura Payton .
11. Web site: A Strange Map of the World's Child-Marriage Laws . The Atlantic . Olga Khazan . 2015-03-09 . 2018-06-24 .
12. News: National Post . Stewart Bell . Conservatives propose increasing legal marriage age to 16, say it will keep 'barbaric cultural practices' out of Canada . 2014-11-05 . 2018-06-24 .
13. The minimum age of 16 for marriage, below which no marriage can be contracted, is currently contained in federal legislation that applies in the Province of Quebec only. For the other provinces and territories, the minimum age is not currently provided for in federal legislation and there is some debate about the minimum age in common law, with some establishing the age at 12 for girls and 14 for boys, and others at age seven for all. . Backgrounder: Comparative overview of proposed changes in the Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act . https://web.archive.org/web/20141106211137/http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?mthd=tp&crtr.page=1&nid=900359&crtr.tp1D=930 . dead . 2014-11-06 . 2014-11-06 . 2014-11-05 . Government of Canada .
14. Web site: Marriage Act. bclaws.ca. 2020-05-20.
15. Web site: Formal Marriage Requirements. bclearningnetwork.com. 2020-05-20.
16. Web site: Get a marriage licence. alberta.ca. en-CA. 2020-05-20.
17. Web site: Marriage Licences Marriages. Government of Saskatchewan. en. 2020-05-20.
18. Web site: Marriage and Common-Law Relationships Province of Manitoba . 2020-05-20 . Province of Manitoba - Manitoba Vital Statistics Agency . en.
19. Web site: Getting married . ontario.ca. 2020-05-20.
20. Web site: Legal age for marriage. Ministère de la justice. en. 2020-05-20.
21. Web site: Getting Married - Frequently Asked Questions. Government of New Brunswick. Canada. 2017-10-16. www2.snb.ca. en. 2020-05-20.
22. Web site: Apply for a Marriage Licence. Scotia. Communications Nova. 2018-05-01. novascotia.ca. en. 2020-05-20.
23. Web site: Toolkit . Web Experience . 2016-12-20 . Are you old enough? - Prince Edward Island Goverment . 2020-05-20 . princeedwardisland.ca.
24. Web site: Getting Married. Service NL. en-CA. 2020-05-20.
25. Web site: MARRIAGE ACT. gov.yk.ca/. 2020-05-20.
26. Web site: Marriage. justice.gov.nt.ca. en-CA. 2020-05-20.
27. Web site: Nunavut Marriage FAQs. canadianbirthcertificate.com. 2020-05-20.
28. Web site: Divorce Act, RSC 1985, c. 3 (2nd Supp.) . 2007 . Justice Laws Website . Department of Justice (Canada).
29. http://canlii.ca/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-3-2nd-supp/latest/rsc-1985-c-3-2nd-supp.html#sec1 Interpretation
30. http://canlii.ca/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-3-2nd-supp/latest/rsc-1985-c-3-2nd-supp.html#sec2subsec6 Jurisdiction
31. http://canlii.ca/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-3-2nd-supp/latest/rsc-1985-c-3-2nd-supp.html#sec7 Divorce
32. http://canlii.ca/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-3-2nd-supp/latest/rsc-1985-c-3-2nd-supp.html#sec15 Child support orders
33. http://canlii.ca/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-3-2nd-supp/latest/rsc-1985-c-3-2nd-supp.html#sec15.1subsec8 Spousal support orders
34. http://canlii.ca/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-3-2nd-supp/latest/rsc-1985-c-3-2nd-supp.html#sec15.2subsec6 Priority
35. http://canlii.ca/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-3-2nd-supp/latest/rsc-1985-c-3-2nd-supp.html#sec15.3subsec3 Custody orders
36. http://canlii.ca/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-3-2nd-supp/latest/rsc-1985-c-3-2nd-supp.html#sec16subsec10 Variation, rescission or suspension of orders
37. http://canlii.ca/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-3-2nd-supp/latest/rsc-1985-c-3-2nd-supp.html#sec17.1 Provisional orders
38. http://canlii.ca/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-3-2nd-supp/latest/rsc-1985-c-3-2nd-supp.html#sec20.1subsec2 Appeals
39. http://canlii.ca/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-3-2nd-supp/latest/rsc-1985-c-3-2nd-supp.html#sec21subsec6 General
40. Divorce rates, by year of marriage . 2018 . . 10.25318/3910002801-eng . free. Statistics Canada .
41. Web site: Bountiful sect members face polygamy, child-related charges . 2014-08-13 . CBC News . 2018-07-19.
42. News: Canada's polygamy legislation . January 21, 2009 . Daniel . Lak . . 2011-12-05.
43. News: Canada urged to review legality of polygamy ban . Reuters . Allan . Dowd . August 1, 2007 . 2011-12-05.
44. News: Canada's polygamy laws upheld by B.C. Supreme Court . CBC News . November 23, 2011 . 2011-12-05 .
45. Web site: Judge tosses convicted B.C. polygamists' constitutional challenge . 2018-03-09 . CBC News . 2018-07-19 . Winston Blackmore and James Oler were found guilty of having multiple wives in B.C. Supreme Court last July. They returned to court to argue their convictions were null because the law itself was unconstitutional under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. On Friday, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Sheri Ann Donegan rejected the argument, stating that Blackmore and Oler considered their lifestyles above the law when they continued to marry women in Bountiful, B.C..
46. Web site: Winston Blackmore and James Oler found guilty of polygamy by B.C. judge . 2017-07-24 . CBC News . 2018-07-19 . Two former religious leaders in B.C. have been found guilty of polygamy after marrying more than two dozen women over the course of 25 years..