Same-sex marriage in Quebec

Same-sex marriage in Canada
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Legal
Reference Re Same-Sex Marriage Halpern v Canada (AG) Civil Marriage Act
Parliament
38th House · 38th Senate 39th House · 39th Senate
Same-sex marriage by province
Related
Civil unions in Quebec Adult interdependent relationship in Alberta Domestic partnership in Nova Scotia Common-law relationships in Manitoba
v t

Same-sex marriage in Quebec has been legal since March 19, 2004. Quebec became the third Canadian province (after Ontario and British Columbia) and the fifth jurisdiction in the world to open marriage to same-sex couples.

Court ruling[]

On March 19, 2004, the Quebec Court of Appeal ruled similarly to the Ontario and British Columbia courts, upholding Hendricks and Leboeuf v. Quebec and ordering that it take effect immediately.^[1] The couple who brought the suit, Michael Hendricks and René Leboeuf, immediately sought a marriage licence; the usual 20-day waiting period was waived, and they were wed on April 1 at the Palais de justice in Montreal. The couple had brought suit against Quebec in November 2001, alleging that its refusal to perform and recognise same-sex marriage violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.^[a] The Quebec Superior Court ruled in the couple's favour on September 6, 2002, though the ruling would not take effect until March 19, 2004, when the Court of Appeal ruled that same-sex marriage licenses must be issued immediately. The provincial and federal governments had initially opposed the court bid; provincial Attorney General Paul Bégin argued that "gays and lesbians were not suffering any form of discrimination in [Quebec]", while federal Attorney General Anne McLellan argued that the definition of marriage was at the Parliament of Canada's discretion and not a matter for the courts to decide. The federal government had filed an appeal of the decision of the Superior Court on September 9, 2002 but abandoned that appeal in 2003. The case continued, with a group of religious conservatives, including Roman Catholic and Jewish officials, opposing the plaintiffs' claims. The group argued that the legalisation of same-sex marriage was unconstitutional under the Constitution Act, 1867, would prevent heterosexual couples from marrying and "weaken the meaning of marriage". The Court of Appeal unanimously rejected the group's appeal on March 19. Following the court decision, provincial Attorney General Marc Bellemare announced that the government would abide by the ruling.

The Quebec decision meant that more than two-thirds of the Canadian population were living in provinces where same-sex marriage is legal. Subsequent cases, as well as federal legislation, have expanded this number to cover the entire country.

Provincial legislation[]

Civil unions[]

In 2002, the National Assembly of Quebec unanimously passed a bill legalizing civil unions (French: union civile) for both same-sex and opposite-sex partners, offering many of the same rights, benefits and responsibilities as marriage.^[4] The law includes the right for couples in civil unions to adopt children jointly. Civil unions are performed by court clerks, notaries, mayors, members of municipal councils or borough councils, municipal officials or authorised religious officiants. Once the document is signed by both partners and the witnesses, the union is formally registered with the Director of Civil Status. Quebec civil unions are not recognised in other parts of Canada or other countries.

Marriage[]

In November 2004, An Act to amend the Civil Code as regards marriage (French: Loi modifiant le Code civil relativement au mariage) was enacted, amending the Civil Code of Quebec to replace references to "husband and wife" with "spouses" and permit civil unions to be converted to marriages.^[5] Quebec became the first province in Canada to bring its laws in line with the legalisation of same-sex marriage and add a gender-neutral definition of spouse in its marriage laws.

Marriage and civil union statistics[]

From 2004 to 2020, 9,168 same-sex marriages were performed in Quebec, representing about 2.5% of all marriages contracted during that time.^[6] There were also 1,237 same-sex civil unions (from 2002 to 2020), representing about 29% of all civil unions.

The following table shows the number of marriages and civil unions performed in Quebec, as per data published by the Institut de la statistique du Québec.

Note: * provisional data

Public opinion[]

A 2017 CROP poll showed that Quebec had the highest popular support for same-sex marriage in Canada, at 80%. Nationwide, 74% of Canadians found it "great that in Canada, two people of the same sex can get married", while 26% disagreed.^[7][8]

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

• "Same-sex marriage in Quebec, Canada". Religious Tolerance.
• Catholic Civil Rights League v. Hendricks (Quebec Court of Appeal, 19 March 2004) - text of the ruling (canlii.ca)