Marriage in Canada - wikipedia Marriage in Canada The Parliament of Canada has exclusive legislative authority over marriage and divorce in Canada under section 91 ( 26 ) of the Constitution Act, 1867. However section 92 ( 12 ) of the Constitution Act, 1867 gives the provincial legislatures the power to pass laws regulating the solemnization of marriage. In 2001 there were 146,618 marriages in Canada, down 6.8 % from 157,395 in 2000. Prince Edward Island had the highest crude marriage rate ( 6.5 per 1,000 people ) and Quebec had the lowest ( 3.0 ). Marriage ceremonies in Canada can be either civil or religious. Marriages may be performed by members of the clergy, marriage commissioners, judges, justices of the peace or clerks of the court, depending on the laws of each province and territory regulating marriage solemnization. In 2001, the majority of Canadian marriages ( 76.4 % ) were religious, with the remainder ( 23.6 % ) being performed by non-clergy. Same - sex marriage has been legal in Canada nationally since 2005. Court decisions, starting in 2003, had already legalized same - sex marriage in eight out of ten provinces and one of three territories. Contents 1 Marriage restrictions 1.1 Consanguinity 1.2 Consent of the spouses 1.3 Age of the spouses 2 Divorce 2.1 Rates by year 3 Polygamy 4 See also 5 References Marriage restrictions Consanguinity The federal Marriage ( Prohibited Degrees ) Act prevents the following persons from getting married : 2. ( 1 ) Subject to subsection ( 2 ), persons related by consanguinity, affinity or adoption are not prohibited from marrying each other by reason only of their relationship. ( 2 ) No person shall marry another person if they are related lineally, or as brother or sister or half - brother or half - sister, including by adoption. Consent of the spouses Both parties must freely consent. Forcing somebody to get married is a criminal offense under s. 293.1 of the Criminal Code. In addition, s. 2.1 of the Civil Marriage Act stipulates, `` Marriage requires the free and enlightened consent of two persons to be the spouse of each other. '' Age of the spouses The minimum marriageable age throughout Canada is 16. In Canada the age of majority is set by province / territory at 18 or 19, so minors under this age have additional restrictions ( i.e. parental and court consent ). Section 293.2 of the Criminal Code also addresses marriages of individuals under the age of 16, reading : Everyone who celebrates, aids or participates in a marriage rite or ceremony knowing that one of the persons being married is under the age of 16 years is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years. Section 2.2 of the Civil Marriage Act also states : No person who is under the age of 16 years may contract marriage. Divorce Termination of marriage in Canada is covered by the federal Divorce Act. A divorce may be granted for one of the following reasons : the marriage has irretrievably broken down, and the two parties have been living apart for a year ( s. 8 ( 2 ) ( a ) of the Act ) one party has committed adultery ( s. 8 ( 2 ) ( b ) ( i ) of the Act ) one party has treated the other party `` with physical or mental cruelty of such a kind as to render intolerable the continued cohabitation of the spouses '' ( s. 8 ( 2 ) ( b ) ( ii ) of the Act ) Key headings of the Divorce Act : Interpretation Jurisdiction Divorce Child support orders Spousal support orders Priority Custody orders Variation, rescission or suspension of orders Provisional orders Appeals General Rates by year Divorce Rate ( per 100,000 residents per year ) in Canada, by year Year Rate 1950 39.3 1951 37.6 1952 39.1 1953 41.5 1954 38.7 1955 38.6 1956 37.3 1957 40.3 1958 36.8 1959 37.4 1960 39.1 1961 36.0 1962 36.4 1963 40.6 1964 44.7 1965 45.7 1966 51.2 1967 54.8 1968 54.8 1969 124.2 1970 139.8 1971 135.2 1972 145.8 1973 163.2 197.4 218.7 1976 231.2 1977 233.4 1978 238.5 1979 245.7 1980 253.0 1981 272.6 1982 280.4 270.3 1984 254.5 1985 239.8 1986 300.0 363.8 311.7 296.9 283.4 1991 274.7 278.6 272.7 272.0 1995 264.9 241.6 225.4 1998 229.1 1999 233.2 2000 231.8 229.2 2002 223.8 2003 223.9 218.0 2005 221.0 2006 229.3 2007 222.2 2008 210.8 Polygamy Main article : Polygamy in North America In Canada, polygamy is a criminal offence, but prosecutions are rare. As of January 2009, no person has been prosecuted for polygamy in Canada in over sixty years. In 2007, an independent prosecutor in British Columbia recommended that Canadian courts be asked to rule on the constitutionality of laws against polygamy. The Supreme Court of British Columbia upheld Canada 's polygamy laws in a 2011 reference case. See also Concubinage in Canada References Jump up ^ `` Marriages ''. The Daily. Statistics Canada. November 20, 2003. Jump up ^ Marriage ( Prohibited Degrees ) Act, SC 1990, c. 46. ^ Jump up to : Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c. C - 46. ^ Jump up to : Civil Marriage Act, SC 2005, c. 33. Jump up ^ `` Divorce Act, RSC 1985, c. 3 ( 2nd Supp. ) ) ''. Justice Laws Website. Department of Justice ( Canada ). 2007. Jump up ^ Interpretation. Canadian Legal Information Institute. Jump up ^ Jurisdiction. Canadian Legal Information Institute. Jump up ^ Divorce. Canadian Legal Information Institute. Jump up ^ Child support orders. Canadian Legal Information Institute. Jump up ^ Spousal support orders. Canadian Legal Information Institute. Jump up ^ Priority. Canadian Legal Information Institute. Jump up ^ Custody orders. Canadian Legal Information Institute. Jump up ^ Variation, rescission or suspension of orders. Canadian Legal Information Institute. Jump up ^ Provisional orders. Canadian Legal Information Institute. Jump up ^ Appeals. Canadian Legal Information Institute. Jump up ^ General. Canadian Legal Information Institute. Jump up ^ `` Divorce and suicide rates, per 100,000, Canada, 1950 to 2008 ''. Statistics Canada. Jump up ^ Lak, Daniel ( January 21, 2009 ). `` Canada 's polygamy legislation ''. CBC News. Retrieved 2011 - 12 - 05. Jump up ^ Dowd, Allan ( August 1, 2007 ). `` Canada urged to review legality of polygamy ban ''. Reuters. Retrieved 2011 - 12 - 05. Jump up ^ `` Canada 's polygamy laws upheld by B.C. Supreme Court ''. CBC News. November 23, 2011. Retrieved 2011 - 12 - 05. Jump up ^ `` Reference re : Section 293 of the Criminal Code of Canada '', 2011 BCSC 1588, Canadian Legal Information Institute Marriage in North America Sovereign states Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Canada Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago United States Dependencies and other territories Anguilla Aruba Bermuda Bonaire British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Curaçao Greenland Guadeloupe Martinique Montserrat Puerto Rico Saint Barthélemy Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saba Sint Eustatius Sint Maarten Turks and Caicos Islands United States Virgin Islands Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marriage_in_Canada&oldid=788660518 '' Categories : Marriage, unions and partnerships in Canada Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 2 July 2017, at 18 : 47. 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Question: what is the legal age to get married in canada
Answer: 16