Same-sex Marriage in Canada

Same-sex Marriage In Canada

Performed in some jurisdictions

Mexico: Mexico City, ROO United States: CT, DC, IA, MA, MD†, ME†, NH, NY, VT, WA†, Coquille, Suquamish

Recognized, not performed

Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten Israel Mexico: all states United States: CA, RI

Civil unions and registered partnerships
Andorra Austria Brazil Colombia Czech Republic Ecuador Finland France Germany Greenland Hungary Ireland Isle of Man Jersey Liechtenstein Luxembourg New Zealand Slovenia Switzerland United Kingdom Uruguay
Performed in some jurisdictions
Australia: ACT, NSW, QLD, TAS, VIC Mexico: COA United States: CA, CO, DE, HI, IL, NJ, NV, OR, RI, WI Venezuela: Mérida

Unregistered cohabitation
Australia Croatia Israel

See also
Same-sex union legislation Timeline of same-sex marriage Recognition of same-sex unions in Europe Recognition of same-sex unions in South America Marriage privatization Domestic partnership Military policy Listings by country

†Note: Law not yet in effect LGBT portal

On July 20, 2005, Canada became the fourth country in the world and the first country in the Americas to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide with the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act which provided a gender-neutral marriage definition. Court decisions, starting in 2003, each already legalized same-sex marriage in eight out of ten provinces and one of three territories, whose residents comprised about 90% of Canada's population. Before passage of the Act, more than 3,000 same-sex couples had already married in those areas. Most legal benefits commonly associated with marriage had been extended to cohabiting same-sex couples since 1999.

The Civil Marriage Act was introduced by Prime Minister Paul Martin's Liberal government in the Canadian House of Commons on February 1, 2005 as Bill C-38. It was passed by the House of Commons on June 28, 2005, by the Senate on July 19, 2005, and it received Royal Assent the following day. On December 7, 2006, the House of Commons effectively reaffirmed the legislation by a vote of 175 to 123, defeating a Conservative government motion to examine the matter again. This was the third vote supporting same-sex marriage taken by three Parliaments under three Prime Ministers in three different years.