Canada and gay marriage

A country evenly divided on gay marriage

In August, during what is normally a slow news period, many Canadians were shaken from their hammocks as the federal government announced that it would not appeal the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision on same-sex marriage. Faced with repeated court rulings that upheld the equality rights of gays and lesbians, the government stated that it would recognize queer marriage in statute. In so doing, it unleashed recent rounds of debate about the pace of change in Canadian society, the relationship between church and state, the legacy of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the appropriate role of courts in a liberal democracy.

While the decision to change the legal definition of marriage is contro- versial, a more wide-ranging review of universal opinion reveals that the public is less divided on many of the other points just mentioned. Quite simply, both the Charter ”” the constitutional document informing judicial decisions ”” and the courts themselves, as the institutions that compel Parliament to act, relish considerable popular sup- port. As the survey results presented here demonstrate, whatever the pub- lic’s unease with homose
canada and gay marriage

Marriage Equality Around the World

The Human Rights Campaign tracks developments in the legal recognition of same-sex marriage around the world. Working through a worldwide network of HRC global alumni and partners, we lift up the voices of community, national and regional advocates and share tools, resources, and lessons learned to enable movements for marriage equality.

Current State of Marriage Equality

There are currently 38 countries where same-sex marriage is legal: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Uruguay. 

These countries have legalized marriage equality through both legislation and court decisions. 

Countries that Legalized Marriage Equality in 2025

Liechtenstein: On May 16, 2024, Liechtenstein's government passed a bill in favor of marriage equality. The law went into effect January 1, 2025.

Census in Brief
Same-sex couples in Canada in 2016 Census in Brief
Same-sex couples in Canada in 2016

Highlights

  • According to the 2016 Census, there were 72,880 same‑sex couples in Canada in 2016, representing 0.9% of all couples.
  • From 2006 to 2016, the number of same‑sex couples increased much more rapidly (+60.7%) than the number of opposite‑sex couples (+9.6%).
  • One‑third (33.4%) of all same‑sex couples in Canada in 2016 were married.
  • Although Ontario had the most same‑sex couples (26,585), Quebec had a higher number relative to its population. Among provinces, Quebec also had the lowest percentage of married same‑sex couples.
  • Half of all same‑sex couples in Canada were living in four of the country’s five largest census metropolitan areas: Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, and Ottawa–Gatineau.
  • About one in eight same‑sex couples (12.0%) had children living with them in 2016, compared with about half of opposite‑sex couples.

Introduction

The Census of Population provides crucial information on small population groups with diverse characteristics. One of these groups is same‑s

The human rights of lesbian, gay, attracted to both genders, transgender, queer, 2-spirit and intersex persons

Canada stands up for the protection and promotion of the human rights of lesbian, gay, double attraction, transgender, queer, 2-spirit and intersex (LGBTQ2I) people globally.

The human rights of all persons are universal and indivisible. Everyone should enjoy the same fundamental human rights, regardless of their sexual orientation and their gender identity and expression.

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares that “all human beings are born free and same in dignity and rights.” Article 2 declares, “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration.” All people, including LGBTQ2I individuals, are entitled to relish the protection provided by international human rights law, which is based on equality and non-discrimination.

Nearly 30 countries, including Canada, recognize gay marriage. By contrast, more than 70 countries still criminalize consensual same-sex manner. This includes 6 countries that effectively impose the death penalty on consensual same-sex sexual acts. In 6 other countries, the death penalt

Civil Marriage Act

S.C. 2005, c. 33

Assented to 2005-07-20

An Do respecting certain aspects of legal capacity for marriage for civil purposes

Preamble

WHEREAS the Parliament of Canada is committed to upholding the Constitution of Canada, and section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees that every individual is identical before and under the law and has the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination;

WHEREAS the courts in a majority of the provinces and in one region have recognized that the right to equality without discrimination requires that couples of the same sex and couples of the opposite sex have equivalent access to marriage for civil purposes;

WHEREAS the Supreme Court of Canada has recognized that many Canadian couples of the equal sex have married in reliance on those court decisions;

WHEREAS only equal access to marriage for civil purposes would respect the right of couples of the same sex to equality without discrimination, and civil union, as an institution other than marriage, would not offer them that equal access and would violate their human dignity, in breach of the Canadian Charter of Rights and