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Getting a Divorce

Canadian divorce is federal and no-fault in practice: one ground — breakdown of the marriage — proven in nearly every case by living separate and apart for 1 year. You can start the paperwork before the year is up, you can be "separated" under the same roof, and blame changes almost nothing financially. Call 1-855-529-1555 free, any hour, to understand how it applies to your marriage.

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Divorce at a glance

The ground

Breakdown of the marriage (Divorce Act, s 8) — proven by 1 year's separation, or by adultery or cruelty (rarely worth the fight)

The timeline

You can file before the year is complete; the divorce just cannot be granted until it is. It takes effect on the 31st day after being granted

Same roof counts

You can live separate and apart in the same home — separate lives, finances and routines are what count

The court

Your province's superior court — Superior Court of Justice (ON), Supreme Court (BC), Court of King's Bench (prairies), Superior Court (QC)

What it does not decide

Property division runs under provincial law with its own deadlines — in Ontario, an equalization claim is generally barred 2 years after the divorce

How a Canadian divorce actually runs

The Divorce Act gives one ground — breakdown of the marriage — and three ways to prove it: 1 year of living separate and apart, adultery, or cruelty. In practice, virtually everyone uses the year: adultery and cruelty must be proven, invite conflict, and buy no financial advantage, because Canadian courts do not punish bad spouses with worse settlements. The year runs from the day you start living separate lives — which can happen under one roof, with courts looking at separate bedrooms, finances, meals and social lives.

You can file at any point after separating; the court simply cannot grant the divorce until the year is complete. Uncontested divorces — where the paperwork is agreed or undefended — are processed on documents in a few months in most provinces. The divorce is effective on the 31st day after it is granted, which is when you can remarry. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

What the divorce decides — and what it doesn't

The divorce order itself ends the marriage. Everything else — parenting arrangements (decision-making responsibility and parenting time), child support under the Federal Guidelines, spousal support — can be dealt with in the same proceeding under the Divorce Act, but property division is not federal at all: it runs under your province's law, with real differences and real deadlines. In Ontario, the equalization claim is generally barred 2 years after the divorce or 6 years after separation, whichever comes first. Divorcing first and sorting property "later" is how people lose six-figure claims.

Most couples resolve everything by a separation agreement — a binding contract, best made with independent legal advice on each side — and use the divorce itself as the administrative last step. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

Quebec, and a note on religious divorce

Quebec divorces run under the same federal Divorce Act, through the Superior Court, alongside Quebec's civil-law rules for the family patrimony. And in every province: a civil divorce does not dissolve a religious marriage — the Divorce Act contains machinery to discourage a spouse from withholding a religious divorce (such as a get) as leverage, and a lawyer can explain how it is used. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

Getting divorced, step by step

Separate — and date itThe 1-year clock starts when you begin living separate and apart (same roof included). Record the date; it anchors the divorce and several property deadlines.

Settle the real issuesParenting, support and property are the substance — a separation agreement with independent legal advice on both sides resolves most families without a trial.

File — and mind the property clockFile in your province's superior court (before the year is up if you like). Call 1-855-529-1555 free, any hour, to get the sequence right — and book a C$295 family lawyer consultation on the call if you want advice.

Divorce — your questions answered

Do I need my spouse's consent to get divorced?

No. After a year's separation either spouse can obtain a divorce — consent is not required and refusing to "sign the papers" only slows the process, it cannot stop it. A spouse can contest the claims attached to a divorce (parenting, support), but not, in any practical way, the divorce itself after the year has run.

Does it matter who caused the marriage to end?

Financially, almost never. Canada's system is no-fault: adultery does not change property division, support is based on need and means rather than blame, and parenting is decided on the children's best interests. The exceptions are conduct that is financially relevant (hiding or wasting assets) or relevant to parenting (family violence — which the Divorce Act now expressly requires courts to consider).

Can we be separated while living in the same house?

Yes — courts accept separation under one roof where the marriage's substance has ended: separate rooms, separate finances, no shared meals or social life as a couple. Many separating parents stay in the home for the children or the mortgage. Keep evidence of when the shared life ended, because the date starts the divorce clock and property deadlines.

How much does a divorce cost?

Court filing fees are a few hundred dollars, and a genuinely uncontested paperwork divorce can be done modestly. The real costs live in the disputes — parenting, support, property. Every dollar spent agreeing beats ten spent litigating: mediation and a properly advised separation agreement are the cost control. A C$295 consultation (the total, nothing added) is the cheap way to find out where your case sits.

We married overseas. Can we divorce in Canada?

Generally yes — Canadian courts can divorce couples married anywhere, provided at least one spouse has been ordinarily resident in the province for the year before filing. Foreign divorces are usually recognised in Canada on similar residence logic. Cross-border marriages add real wrinkles (property in two countries, recognition abroad) that deserve advice before filing anywhere.

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