Gay Marriages in Canada Tips

Who Can Marry in Canada

Canada does not have a residency requirement for gay marriage. This means that any couple from any country can travel to Canada to be married, regardless of what the laws are in their home country or the time they intend to spend in Canada .

Couples can only be married in Canada if both partners are over 18 (or, in British Columbia , 17), and can produce photo ID.

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Is a Canadian Gay Marriage Recognized in America?

Same sex marriages that have been performed in Canada are not automatically legal in any other country. Couples need to apply to their local government for legal recognition of their marriage. There are very few countries that will recognize a gay marriage performed in Canada .

That said, it is important for couples to add their marriage to the numbers fighting to legalize gay marriage in most countries. Couples who have had a Canadian gay marriage should contact their local gay rights groups to see how their marriage can count toward gay marriage rights in their country.

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Same Sex Marriage and Immigration in Canada

The Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada will recognize a gay marriage in Canada between immigration applicants and Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Canadian residents may also sponsor their gay common-law or civil union partners for family-class immigration. The partners must supply proof of co-habitation for at least one year

Canadian immigration law does not recognize same-sex marriages conducted outside Canada. Several court cases have questioned this policy but so far immigration law has not been altered to accept marriages in the Netherlands, Belgium or Spain.

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Churches Willing to Perform Gay Marriages in Canada

There are many churches in Canada that will perform gay marriages, including the Unitarian Church of Canada, the United Church and MCC. Although same-sex marriage is not supported in orthodox religious tradition in Judaism, Reform Judaism allows Rabbis to bless same-sex unions in a synagogue. The text does not use the words 'wedding' or 'marriage' in the vows.

For a non-religious ceremony, it is important to know that Canadian law prohibits marriage commissioners from including references to religion in the ceremony.

The Anglican Diocese of New Westminstier, which is located in British Columbia , began to allow its churches to bless same-sex unions. Although this was good news for Canada gay marriage, it resulted in bishops from Africa , Asia and Latin America cutting off relations with the diocese.

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History of Gay Marriage in Canada

Gay marriage in Canada has been legal since 2005. The first step in the legalization of gay marriage in Canada was in 1999, when a gay couple won the rights given to married couples in a decision by the Supreme Court of Canada. In 2002 and 2003, other court decisions in three provinces ordered the federal court to legalize same sex marriage. Gay marriage has been legal in Ontario and British Columbia since 2003, Quebec, the Yukon , Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador in 2004, and New Brunswick and the Northwest Territories in 2005.

The Canadian Parliament began discussions on legalizing gay marriage in 1999, when the Canadian Alliance brought a motion to define marriage as a heterosexual institution. A draft bill was presented to Parliament in 2003, and after amendments bill C-38, the Civil Marriage Act, was passed in early 2005.

In 2004, the Ontario Court of Appeal found that the Divorce Act was discriminatory and ordered that it be altered to allow gay couples to divorce.

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How to Have A Canada Gay Wedding At Home

It is not always financially possible for families to join a couple for a wedding overseas, and as so few countries will perform a gay wedding, gay couples face a choice between a family-less ceremony or huge costs.
Although families may not be able to be present at a foreign wedding ceremony, the formal signing of the marriage document is only one part of the wedding tradition, and not the oldest part by far. The tradition of a public wedding evolved so that the individuals getting married could be presented to their community as a united entity. Couples facing travelling overseas for a gay wedding should consider dividing the wedding in half, treating the formalities as a registration and the homecoming celebraton as the emotional half of their wedding.
Using video footage of the formal ceremony and saving sections of the ceremony - such as the exchange of vows or gay wedding rings - for home is another way to involve family in the couple's Canada gay wedding.

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