Divorce Act
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 18.3 — No action by respondent
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, the respondent habitually resides in a different province and the…
Section 19 — If applicant resides in designated jurisdiction
A former spouse who is resident in a designated jurisdiction may, without notice to the other former spouse, commence a proceeding to obtain, vary, rescind or suspend, retroactively or prospectively,…
Section 19.1 — Recognition of decision of designated jurisdiction varying support order
A former spouse who is resident in a designated jurisdiction may, through the responsible authority in the designated jurisdiction, make an application to the designated authority of the province in…
Section 20 — Definition of court
In this section, court , in respect of a province, has the meaning assigned by subsection 2(1) and includes such other court having jurisdiction in the province as is designated by the Lieutenant…
Section 20.1 — Assignment of order
A support order may be assigned to any minister of the Crown for Canada designated by the Governor in Council; any minister of the Crown for a province, or any agency in a province, designated by the…
Section 21 — Appeal to appellate court
Subject to subsections (2) and (3), an appeal lies to the appellate court from any judgment or order, whether final or interim, rendered or made by a court under this Act. No appeal lies from a…
Section 21.1
[Repealed, 2019, c. 16, s. 17] In any proceedings under this Act, a spouse (in this section referred to as the “deponent”) may serve on the other spouse and file with the court an affidavit…
Section 22 — Recognition of foreign divorce
A divorce granted, on or after the coming into force of this Act, by a competent authority shall be recognized for the purpose of determining the marital status in Canada of any person, if either…
Section 22.1 — Recognition of foreign order that varies parenting or contact order
On application by an interested person, a court in a province that has a sufficient connection with the matter shall recognize a decision made by a competent authority that has the effect of varying,…
Section 23 — Provincial laws of evidence
Subject to this or any other Act of Parliament, the laws of evidence of the province in which any proceedings under this Act are taken, including the laws of proof of service of any document, apply…
Section 23.1 — Means of presenting submissions
If the parties to a proceeding are habitually resident in different provinces, a court of competent jurisdiction may, in accordance with any applicable rules regulating the practice and procedure in…
Section 23.2 — Official languages
A proceeding under this Act may be conducted in English or French, or in both official languages of Canada. In any proceeding under this Act, any person has the right to use either official language,…
Section 24 — Proof of signature or office
A document offered in a proceeding under this Act that purports to be certified or sworn by a judge or an officer of a court shall, unless the contrary is proved, be proof of the appointment,…
Section 25 — Definition of competent authority
In this section, competent authority , in respect of a court, or appellate court, in a province means the body, person or group of persons ordinarily competent under the laws of that province to make…
Section 25.01 — Provincial child support service — calculation of child support
With the approval of the Governor in Council, the Minister of Justice may, on behalf of the Government of Canada, enter into an agreement with a province authorizing a provincial child support…
Section 25.1 — Provincial child support service — recalculation of child support
With the approval of the Governor in Council, the Minister of Justice may, on behalf of the Government of Canada, enter into an agreement with a province authorizing a provincial child support…
Section 25.2 — Ministerial activities
The Minister of Justice may conduct activities related to matters governed by this Act, including undertaking research.
Section 26 — Regulations
The Governor in Council may make regulations for carrying the purposes and provisions of this Act into effect and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, may make regulations respecting…
Section 26.1 — Guidelines
The Governor in Council may establish guidelines respecting orders for child support, including, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, guidelines respecting the way in which the…
Section 27 — Fees
The Governor in Council may, by order, authorize the Minister of Justice to prescribe a fee to be paid by any person to whom a service is provided under this Act or the regulations. The Minister of…
Section 28 — Definitions
The following definitions apply in this section and in sections 28.1 to 29.5. 2007 Convention means the Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family…
Section 28.1 — Force of law
The provisions of the 2007 Convention have the force of law in Canada in so far as they relate to subjects that fall within the legislative competence of Parliament. The 2007 Convention prevails over…
Section 28.2 — Explanatory Report
In interpreting the 2007 Convention, recourse may be had to the Explanatory Report on the Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance, adopted by…
Section 28.3 — Application
Sections 28.4 to 29.5 apply if either the creditor or the debtor, as the case may be, resides in a State Party and the other resides in a province in respect of which Canada has made a declaration…
Section 28.4 — Recognition of State Party decision varying child support order
A creditor may, through the Central Authority designated by the State Party in which the creditor resides, submit to the Central Authority in the province in which the debtor is habitually resident…
Section 28.5 — Establishment or variation of child support order or calculation or recalculation of amount
A creditor may, through the Central Authority designated by the State Party in which the creditor resides, submit to the Central Authority in the province in which the debtor is habitually resident…
Section 29 — Recognition of State Party decision suspending or limiting enforcement of child support order
A debtor may, through the Central Authority designated by the State Party in which the debtor resides, submit to the Central Authority in the province in which the creditor is habitually resident an…
Section 29.1 — Variation of child support order or recalculation of amount
A debtor may, through the Central Authority designated by the State Party in which the debtor resides, submit to the Central Authority in the province in which the creditor is habitually resident an…
Section 29.2 — Declaration in respect of a province
If Canada declares under Article 2 of the 2007 Convention that the application of Chapters II and III of that Convention is to extend, in respect of a province, to spousal support orders, the…
Section 29.3 — Recognition of State Party decision varying support order
A creditor may submit to a court in the province in which the debtor is habitually resident an application for recognition — and, if applicable, for enforcement — of a decision of a State Party that…
Section 29.4 — Recognition of State Party decision suspending or limiting enforcement of support order
A debtor may submit to a court in the province in which the creditor is habitually resident an application for recognition of a decision of a State Party that has the effect of suspending or limiting…
Section 29.5 — Support decision obtained in State Party
If a divorce proceeding is commenced in the province in which the debtor is habitually resident, the court of competent jurisdiction is not authorized to make an order under section 15.1 if the…
Section 30 and 31
[Repealed, 1997, c. 1, s. 12]
Section 32 — Proceedings based on facts arising before commencement of Act
Proceedings may be commenced under this Act notwithstanding that the material facts or circumstances giving rise to the proceedings or to jurisdiction over the proceedings occurred wholly or partly…
Section 33
[Repealed, 2019, c. 16, s. 32]
Section 34 — Variation and enforcement of orders previously made
Subject to subsection (1.1), any order made under subsection 11(1) of the Divorce Act , chapter D-8 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1970, and any order to the like effect made corollary to a…
Section 35 — Procedural laws continued
The rules and regulations made under the Divorce Act , chapter D-8 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1970, and the provisions of any other law or of any rule, regulation or other instrument made…
Section 35.1 — Variation and enforcement of support orders previously made
Subject to subsection (2), any support order made under this Act before the coming into force of this section may be varied, rescinded, suspended or enforced in accordance with sections 17 to 20 as…
Section 35.2 — Agreements entered into under subsection 25.1(1)
Any agreement entered into by the Minister of Justice under subsection 25.1(1), as that subsection read immediately before the day on which section 27 of An Act to amend the Divorce Act, the Family…
Section 35.3 — Proceedings commenced before coming into force
A proceeding commenced under this Act before the day on which this section comes into force and not finally disposed of before that day shall be dealt with and disposed of in accordance with this Act…
Section 35.4 — Person deemed to have parenting time and decision-making responsibility
Unless a court orders otherwise, a person who had custody of a child by virtue of a custody order made under this Act, immediately before the day on which this section comes into force, is deemed as…
Section 35.5 — Person deemed to have contact order
If, immediately before the day on which this section comes into force, a person who is not a spouse or former spouse had access to a child by virtue of a custody order made under this Act, then, as…
Section 35.6 — No notice
A person who is deemed under section 35.4, to be a person to whom parenting time or decision-making responsibility has been allocated is not required to give notice under either section 16.8 or 16.9…
Section 35.7 — No change in circumstances
For the purposes of subsection 17(5), as enacted by subsection 13 (2) of An Act to amend the Divorce Act, the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act and the Garnishment, Attachment…
Section 35.8 — Variation of orders previously made
An order made before the day on which this section comes into force under subsection 16(1), as that subsection read immediately before that day, or an order made in proceedings disposed of by the…
Section 35.9 — Provisional orders
If, before the day on which this section comes into force, a provisional order was made under subsection 18(2) as it read immediately before that day, the provisional order is deemed, as of that day,…
Section * 36 — Commencement
This Act shall come into force on a day to be fixed by proclamation.