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Same is true in Alberta. You don't even have to live together in Canada, just be able to prove you lived together for 1 year somewhere. I met my girl in Austr

Same is true in Alberta. You don't even have to live together in Canada, just be able to prove you lived together for 1 year somewhere. I met my girl in Australia and between working on a farm together for a year and then a "short" visitor visa (6 months) in Canada we met that 1+ year requirement. Didn't hurt that I do IT remotely. My understanding is that it was originally set up to allow gay couples to apply, as most countries didn't/still don't have gay marriage laws on the books. However only offering it to one group would be discriminatory, so everyone can use it, in theory. In my apartment building there is at least one other couple, a Scottish guy and Canadian girl, who did the same. Plus, as the parent mentions, regular marriage is on the decline in N. America too. That said, common law still carries weight in things like inheritance, and if you split they can petition for your property and money, just like in a divorce. They just have fewer/more limited rights to things, and there is a 2-year window to file after splitting, while a divorce decree can be far more encompassing and longer lasting.

jkaplowitz 6y ago
Yeah, most of what I said applies to all of Canada, except for the specific statistics about Quebec which are even more shifted against marriage than the rest of Canada. Also I believe the status that was created for same-sex couples is civil unions, which at least in Quebec still exists as a separate option as well. What you said about common law applying to inheritance and splitting doesn't actually apply to Quebec, however. No rights exist in that context here unless otherwise agreed in certain ways. Very different legal regime than the rest of Canada. (Technically common-law partners are called de facto spouses or de facto partners under some Quebec laws, though others include them under the definition of spouse despite not being married. Makes sense since Quebec doesn't use the common-law legal system with respect to relations between people, as opposed to between people and the government where it does.)

jkaplowitz 6y ago

Yeah, most of what I said applies to all of Canada, except for the specific statistics about Quebec which are even more shifted against marriage than the rest of Canada. Also I believe the status that was created for same-sex couples is civil unions, which at least in Quebec still exists as a separate option as well. What you said about common law applying to inheritance and splitting doesn't actually apply to Quebec, however. No rights exist in that context here unless otherwise agreed in certain ways. Very different legal regime than the rest of Canada. (Technically common-law partners are called de facto spouses or de facto partners under some Quebec laws, though others include them under the definition of spouse despite not being married. Makes sense since Quebec doesn't use the common-law legal system with respect to relations between people, as opposed to between people and the government where it does.)