# Same-sex marriage in Nova Scotia

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Same-sex union legislation
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Notes
1 2 Performed in the Netherlands proper (including the Caribbean Netherlands), as well as in Aruba and Curaçao. May be registered in Sint Maarten in such cases, but the rights of marriage are not guaranteed.
↑ Neither performed nor recognized in Niue, Tokelau, or the Cook Islands.
↑ Neither performed nor recognized in six British Overseas Territories.
1 2 Neither performed nor recognized in some tribal nations. Recognized but not performed in several other tribal nations and American Samoa.
↑ Registered foreign marriages confer all marriage rights. Domestic common-law marriages confer most rights of marriage. Domestic civil marriage recognized by some cities.
1 2 3 4 5 The Coman v. Romania ruling of the European Court of Justice obliges the state to provide residency rights for the foreign spouses of EU citizens. Some member states, including Romania, do not follow the ruling.
↑ A "declaration of family relationship" is available in several of Cambodia's communes which may be useful in matters such as housing, but is not legally binding.
↑ Guardianship agreements, conferring some limited legal benefits, including decisions about medical and personal care.
↑ Inheritance, guardianship rights, and residency rights for foreign spouses of legal residents.
↑ Courts have recognised guru–shishya, nata pratha or maitri karar–type contractual relationships, but they are not legally binding.
↑ Some cities and prefectures issue partnership certificates, but they are not legally binding.
↑ Marriages conducted abroad between a Namibian national and a foreign spouse recognized for residency rights.
↑ Hospital visitation rights through a "legal representative" status.
1 2 Not yet in effect. :
LGBTQ portal :
vte :
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Nova Scotia since September 24, 2004 when the province began issuing marriage licences to same-sex couples immediately following a court ruling from the Nova Scotia Supreme Court. Nova Scotia was the sixth jurisdiction in Canada and the ninth in the world, after the Netherlands, Belgium, Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, Massachusetts, Yukon and Manitoba, to legalise same-sex marriage.

## Background

In November 2000, the Nova Scotia House of Assembly approved the Law Reform (2000) Act, which legalised domestic partnerships in Nova Scotia. The Act was assented by the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, Myra Freeman, and went into force on June 4, 2001. Domestic partnerships grant cohabiting couples many of the rights and obligations of marriage, including pension benefits, inheritance, and the ability to divide property or other assets at separation or death. These partnerships differ from common law marriages in that they are registered with the state and the property rights of domestic partners are better defined. Both partners must be 19 or older, resident in Nova Scotia for the past 3 months, and not currently married or in a partnership with another individual. Both opposite-sex and same-sex couples can enter into a domestic partnership.
In July 2001, the Nova Scotia Supreme Court concluded that the provision in the Adoption Act which prevented common-law couples from adopting was unconstitutional; the result been that common-law couples, either same-sex or opposite-sex, are now able to adopt children jointly. Madame Justice Deborah Gass ruled that "prohibiting a joint adoption where all the evidence indicates these adults are providing optimum care and loving... defeats the very purpose of the legislation". A spokeswoman for Egale Canada said, "It really is a victory for the expansion of the definition of family and that courts recognize families exist beyond married couples and their children."

## Court ruling

Following the court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage in Yukon in July 2004, Sean Foreman, the chairperson of a local LGBT group, said "We are now considering a change in strategy, to proceed with a similar application in Nova Scotia in the near future, rather than wait for the Reference." Foreman also asked the federal and provincial attorneys general, Irwin Cotler and Michael Baker, to "immediately begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples", but this was not successful. On August 13, 2004, three same-sex couples brought the suit Boutilier et al. v. Canada (A.G) and Nova Scotia (A.G) against the provincial and federal governments requesting that they be issued marriage licences. The partners who brought the suit were Brian Mombourquette and Ross Boutelier, Kim Vance and Samantha Meehan (who had married in Toronto in 2003 and sought recognition of their marriage at home in Nova Scotia), and Ron and Bryan Garnett-Doucette. The couples were represented by Foreman, also a lawyer at the law firm Wickwire Holm in Halifax. Premier John Hamm said the provincial government would not oppose the court bid.
On September 24, 2004, Justice Heather Robertson of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court ruled that the ban on same-sex marriages violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and ordered the province to recognize same-sex unions. Ron and Bryan Garnett-Doucette were the first same-sex couple to obtain a marriage licence in Nova Scotia, receiving a licence in Halifax just hours after the ruling was handed down. They said, "We feel really, really good. It's a great day to be a Nova Scotian." Neither the federal nor the provincial governments opposed the ruling, continuing the trend set with the Yukon and Manitoba rulings. Attorney General Baker said, "We certainly did not want to waste taxpayers' money", and Premier Hamm said the province would abide by the court's decision. Leader of the Opposition Darrell Dexter praised the court ruling. Terrence Prendergast, the Archbishop of Halifax, condemned the court decision, stating that "marriage is a natural institution that precedes all social, legal and religious systems", "We must recognize this decision as the end of state support for marriage as we have always known it."

## Provincial legislation

An odd proviso to the post-ruling status was that, until a formal change to the provincial Solemnization of Marriage Act, the Minister of Justice still required the terms "husband and wife" to be used by justices of the peace in any wedding. This stance by the Justice Ministry was categorised by some as heterosexist. Shortly afterwards, following warnings of further legal action by the couples' lawyer, the policy was changed to remove that requirement. The Solemnization of Marriage Act (French: Loi sur le mariage; Mi'kmaq: Malieꞌwuti Tplutaqan; Scottish Gaelic: Achd a' Pòsaidh), however, was not modified to this effect. Only in October 2017 did the House of Assembly approve a bill replacing references to "husband and wife" in the Act with the gender-neutral term "spouses". The bill passed its third reading on 20 October and received royal assent by Lieutenant Governor Arthur LeBlanc six days later.

## Marriage statistics

The 2016 Canadian census showed that there were 2,250 same-sex couples living in Nova Scotia. 126 same-sex marriages were solemnised in the province in 2017, accounting for 3% of all marriages, with 87 (69%) of these being between lesbian couples.

## Religious performance

In July 2019, the synod of the Anglican Church of Canada passed a resolution known as "A Word to the Church", allowing its dioceses to choose whether to bless and perform same-sex marriages. In September of the same year, Bishop Ron Cutler of the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island issued a pastoral letter allowing local parishes to perform same-sex marriages.
Some other religious organisations also perform same-sex marriages in their places of worship, including the United Church of Canada, Quakers, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, and the Canadian Unitarian Council. The First Baptist Church in Halifax also performs same-sex marriages, and in April 2023 ordained its first married lesbian minister.