Divorce Act
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 1 — Short title
This Act may be cited as the Divorce Act .
Section 2 — Definitions
In this Act, age of majority , in respect of a child, means the age of majority as determined by the laws of the province where the child habitually resides, or, if the child habitually resides…
Section 3 — 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…
Section 4 — Jurisdiction in corollary relief proceedings
A court in a province has jurisdiction to hear and determine a corollary relief proceeding if either former spouse is habitually resident in the province at the commencement of the proceeding; or…
Section 5 — Jurisdiction in variation proceedings
A court in a province has jurisdiction to hear and determine a variation proceeding if either former spouse is habitually resident in the province at the commencement of the proceeding; or both…
Section 6 — Transfer of proceeding if parenting order applied for
If an application for an order under section 16.1 is made in a divorce proceeding or corollary relief proceeding to a court in a province and the child of the marriage in respect of whom the order is…
Section 6.1 — Jurisdiction — application for contact order
If a court in a province is seized of an application for a parenting order in respect of a child, the court has jurisdiction to hear and determine an application for a contact order in respect of the…
Section 6.2 — Removal or retention of child of marriage
If a child of the marriage is removed from or retained in a province contrary to sections 16.9 to 16.96 or provincial law, a court in the province in which the child was habitually resident that…
Section 6.3 — Child habitually resident outside Canada
If a child of the marriage is not habitually resident in Canada, a court in the province that would otherwise have jurisdiction under sections 3 to 5 to make a parenting order or contact order, or a…
Section 7 — Exercise of jurisdiction by judge
The jurisdiction conferred on a court by this Act to grant a divorce shall be exercised only by a judge of the court without a jury.
Section 7.1 — Best interests of child
A person to whom parenting time or decision-making responsibility has been allocated in respect of a child of the marriage or who has contact with that child under a contact order shall exercise that…
Section 7.2 — Protection of children from conflict
A party to a proceeding under this Act shall, to the best of their ability, protect any child of the marriage from conflict arising from the proceeding.
Section 7.3 — Family dispute resolution process
To the extent that it is appropriate to do so, the parties to a proceeding shall try to resolve the matters that may be the subject of an order under this Act through a family dispute resolution…
Section 7.4 — Complete, accurate and up-to-date information
A party to a proceeding under this Act or a person who is subject to an order made under this Act shall provide complete, accurate and up-to-date information if required to do so under this Act.
Section 7.5 — Duty to comply with orders
For greater certainty, a person who is subject to an order made under this Act shall comply with the order until it is no longer in effect.
Section 7.6 — Certification
Every document that formally commences a proceeding under this Act, or that responds to such a document, that is filed with a court by a party to a proceeding shall contain a statement by the party…
Section 7.7 — Reconciliation
Unless the circumstances of the case are of such a nature that it would clearly not be appropriate to do so, it is the duty of every legal adviser who undertakes to act on a spouse’s behalf in a…
Section 7.8 — Purpose of section
The purpose of this section is to facilitate the identification of orders, undertakings, recognizances, agreements or measures that may conflict with an order under this Act; and the coordination of…
Section 8 — Divorce
A court of competent jurisdiction may, on application by either or both spouses, grant a divorce to the spouse or spouses on the ground that there has been a breakdown of their marriage. Breakdown of…
Section 9
[Repealed, 2019, c. 16, s. 9]
Section 10 — Duty of court — reconciliation
In a divorce proceeding, it is the duty of the court, before considering the evidence, to satisfy itself that there is no possibility of the reconciliation of the spouses, unless the circumstances of…
Section 11 — Duty of court — bars
In a divorce proceeding, it is the duty of the court to satisfy itself that there has been no collusion in relation to the application for a divorce and to dismiss the application if it finds that…
Section 12 — Effective date generally
Subject to this section, a divorce takes effect on the thirty-first day after the day on which the judgment granting the divorce is rendered. Where, on or after rendering a judgment granting a…
Section 13 — Legal effect throughout Canada
On taking effect, a divorce granted under this Act has legal effect throughout Canada.
Section 14 — Marriage dissolved
On taking effect, a divorce granted under this Act dissolves the marriage of the spouses.
Section 15
[Repealed, 2019, c. 16, s. 11]
Section 15.1 — Child support order
A court of competent jurisdiction may, on application by either or both spouses, make an order requiring a spouse to pay for the support of any or all children of the marriage. Where an application…
Section 15.2 — Spousal support order
A court of competent jurisdiction may, on application by either or both spouses, make an order requiring a spouse to secure or pay, or to secure and pay, such lump sum or periodic sums, or such lump…
Section 15.3 — Priority to child support
Where a court is considering an application for a child support order and an application for a spousal support order, the court shall give priority to child support in determining the applications.…
Section 16 — Best interests of child
The court shall take into consideration only the best interests of the child of the marriage in making a parenting order or a contact order. When considering the factors referred to in subsection…
Section 16.1 — Parenting order
A court of competent jurisdiction may make an order providing for the exercise of parenting time or decision-making responsibility in respect of any child of the marriage, on application by either or…
Section 16.2 — Parenting time — schedule
Parenting time may be allocated by way of a schedule. Unless the court orders otherwise, a person to whom parenting time is allocated under paragraph 16.1(4)(a) has exclusive authority to make,…
Section 16.3 — Allocation of decision-making responsibility
Decision-making responsibility in respect of a child, or any aspect of that responsibility, may be allocated to either spouse, to both spouses, to a person described in paragraph 16.1(1)(b), or to…
Section 16.4 — Entitlement to information
Unless the court orders otherwise, any person to whom parenting time or decision-making responsibility has been allocated is entitled to request from another person to whom parenting time or…
Section 16.5 — Contact order
A court of competent jurisdiction may, on application by a person other than a spouse, make an order providing for contact between that person and a child of the marriage. The court may, on…
Section 16.6 — Parenting plan
The court shall include in a parenting order or a contact order, as the case may be, any parenting plan submitted by the parties unless, in the opinion of the court, it is not in the best interests…
Section 16.7 — Non-application
Section 16.8 does not apply to a change in the place of residence that is a relocation.
Section 16.8 — Notice
A person who has parenting time or decision-making responsibility in respect of a child of the marriage and who intends to change their place of residence or that of the child shall notify any other…
Section 16.9 — Notice
A person who has parenting time or decision-making responsibility in respect of a child of the marriage and who intends to undertake a relocation shall notify, at least 60 days before the expected…
Section 16.91 — Relocation authorized
A person who has given notice under section 16.9 and who intends to relocate a child may do so as of the date referred to in the notice if the relocation is authorized by a court; or the following…
Section 16.92 — Best interests of child — additional factors to be considered
In deciding whether to authorize a relocation of a child of the marriage, the court shall, in order to determine what is in the best interests of the child, take into consideration, in addition to…
Section 16.93 — Burden of proof — person who intends to relocate child
If the parties to the proceeding substantially comply with an order, arbitral award, or agreement that provides that a child of the marriage spend substantially equal time in the care of each party,…
Section 16.94 — Power of court — interim order
A court may decide not to apply subsections 16.93(1) and (2) if the order referred to in those subsections is an interim order.
Section 16.95 — Costs relating to exercise of parenting time
If a court authorizes the relocation of a child of the marriage, it may provide for the apportionment of costs relating to the exercise of parenting time by a person who is not relocating between…
Section 16.96 — Notice — persons with contact
A person who has contact with a child of the marriage under a contact order shall notify, in writing, any person with parenting time or decision-making responsibility in respect of that child of…
Section 17 — Variation order
A court of competent jurisdiction may make an order varying, rescinding or suspending, retroactively or prospectively, a support order or any provision of one, on application by either or both former…
Section 17.1
[Repealed, 2019, c. 16, s. 14]
Section 18 — Definitions
The following definitions apply in this section and in sections 18.1 to 19.1. competent authority means a court that has the authority to make an order or another entity that has the authority to…
Section 18.1 — If former spouses reside in different provinces
If the former spouses are resident in different provinces, either of them may, without notice to the other, commence a proceeding to obtain, vary, rescind or suspend, retroactively or prospectively,…
Section 18.2 — Application to court
If an application is made to a court in a province under paragraph 17(1)(a) for a variation order in respect of a support order and the respondent habitually resides in a different province, the…