Section 3 — Divorce Act: Jurisdiction in divorce proceedings

A court in a province has jurisdiction to hear and determine a divorce proceeding if either spouse has been habitually resident in the province for at least one year immediately preceding the commencement of the proceeding. If divorce proceedings between the same spouses are pending in two courts that would otherwise have jurisdiction under subsection (1) and were commenced on different days, and the proceeding that was commenced first is not discontinued, the court in which a divorce proceeding was commenced first has exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine any divorce proceeding then pending between the spouses and the second divorce proceeding is deemed to be discontinued. If divorce proceedings between the same spouses are pending in two courts that would otherwise have jurisdiction under subsection (1) and were commenced on the same day, and neither proceeding is discontinued within 40 days after it was commenced, the Federal Court shall, on application by either or both spouses, determine which court retains jurisdiction by applying the following rules: if at least one of the proceedings includes an application for a parenting order, the court that retains jurisdiction is the court in the province in which the child is habitually resident; if neither of the proceedings includes an application for a parenting order, the court that retains jurisdiction is the court in the province in which the spouses last maintained a habitual residence in common if one of the spouses is habitually resident in that province;

and in any other case, the court that retains jurisdiction is the court that the Federal Court determines to be the most appropriate.