CANADA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Lorne MacLean, KC, Fraser MacLean, Sophie Bartholomew and Rana Yavari, MacLean Law
Spousal support Most provinces allow spousal support after 2–3 years of being in a marriage-like relationship, except Que ‑ bec (with limited exceptions beginning June 2025). CRA rules differ, recognising common‑law status after 12 months or immediately upon the birth of a child. Courts determine marriage‑like relationships using multiple factors including shelter, services, social activities, personal behaviour, economic support, chil ‑ dren, and public representation. BC recognises that a person can have more than one spouse simultane ‑ ously. New Quebec 2025 marriage-like relationship legislation Effective 30 June 2025, Quebec’s Parental Union automatically grants certain rights to unmarried cou ‑ ples who share a child, including shared patrimony, compensatory allowances, residence protections, and inheritance rights. Globalisation and increasing cross‑jurisdictional issues Greater international mobility has accelerated cross‑border disputes regarding child abduction, sup ‑ port, and property division. Landmark international child abduction cases Dunmore v Mehralian , 2025 SCC 20 reaffirmed a con ‑ textual approach to habitual residence. Laranjeira e Silva v Virco , 2024 BCCA 164 applied the hybrid approach from Office of the Children’s Lawyer v Balev (2018 SCC 16), focusing on the child’s overall circumstances. Jurisdictional and support disputes Given that ultra-high-net-worth families will often reside at various times in different places and even in different places at the same time, the determination of which jurisdiction can best decide child parenting, support, and international family law property division issues is becoming ever more common.
• D.L. v M.Y. , 2019 BCSC 881 illustrates the division of issues between countries (eg, custody in Cana ‑ da, property in China). • Florescu v Lodato , 2025 BCSC 1950 highlights the growing risks of conflicting international decisions and the need for judicial efficiency. Recognition of foreign divorces Rasaei v Bahman , 2025 ONSC 2074 held that a foreign divorce does not prevent Ontario courts from hearing provincial spousal support claims, provided the rela ‑ tionship continued with “some permanence”. Provincial trends a. Quebec In 2025, Quebec’s family law landscape was defined by landmark judicial rulings and the implementation of significant legislative reforms, which reshaped rights for multi-parent families and common-law spouses. In addition to the Implementation of the Parental Union Regime (Bill 56) addressed above, there have been various other rulings and reforms. i. Recognition of multi-parent families In April 2025, the Quebec Superior Court issued a historic ruling declaring that a child can legally have more than two parents. However, the Quebec govern ‑ ment announced its intention to appeal the decision, maintaining its preference for a two-parent model. ii. Expansion of family mediation and conciliation To reduce judicial backlog, the Quebec government introduced new measures in February 2025 to move family matters away from the Superior Court. The reform mandates a mediation process for separat ‑ ing parents in parental or civil unions. Parents with dependent children are now entitled to five hours of free mediation to reach an agreement before appear ‑ ing before a judge. b. Alberta Alberta’s key family law appeals in 2025 addressed child protection, relocating children, retroactive sup ‑ port, and matrimonial property valuation, with the Court of Appeal focusing on protecting children’s safety and upholding lower court decisions, empha ‑
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