Divorce in Canada: Grounds, Process and Timeline

Divorce in Canada is governed by one federal law, the Divorce Act, and there is only one legal ground: the breakdown of the marriage, which most couples prove by living separate and apart for a year.

What Counts as Grounds for Divorce in Canada

Under section 8 of the Divorce Act, there is exactly one legal ground for divorce in Canada: breakdown of the marriage. Canada does not have a separate list of faults a spouse must plead. Breakdown of the marriage is established in one of three ways:

• Living separate and apart for at least one year
• Adultery committed by the spouse against whom the divorce is sought
• Physical or mental cruelty that makes continued cohabitation intolerable

Only one of the three needs to be proven. In practice, the great majority of Canadian divorces rely on the one-year separation route because it does not require either spouse to prove the other did something wrong.

The One-Year Separation Route

Separation begins on the date the spouses start living separate and apart with the intention that the marriage is over. Spouses do not need to live in different homes to be considered separated. Canadian courts recognize "separated under the same roof," which is common where moving out isn't immediately practical financially.

You can file the application for divorce before the full year of separation has passed. The court simply will not grant the divorce until the year is complete. The Divorce Act also allows spouses to attempt reconciliation without losing their place in the one-year clock: periods of resumed cohabitation for the purpose of reconciliation that add up to less than 90 days do not restart the separation period, as long as the spouses return to living separate and apart afterward.

Adultery and Cruelty: The Fault-Based Grounds

Adultery and cruelty are still valid grounds under section 8, and using one of them can, in theory, let a spouse seek a divorce before a year of separation has passed. In practice these grounds are used far less often. They require the person relying on them to prove the conduct occurred, which can be difficult, adds conflict, and rarely saves meaningful time compared to simply waiting out the one-year separation clock. Most family law lawyers in Canada steer clients toward the no-fault route unless there is a specific reason not to.

Residency Requirement: Where You Can File

Section 3 of the Divorce Act requires that at least one spouse have been ordinarily resident in the province where the application is filed for at least one year immediately before starting the case. Only one spouse needs to meet this residency requirement; both do not need to live in the same province. If neither spouse has lived in Canada for a full year, a Canadian court generally cannot grant the divorce.

Joint, Uncontested and Contested Applications

Canadian divorce applications generally fall into three categories:

Joint application. Both spouses apply together as co-applicants. This is typically the fastest and least expensive route and is common where the spouses have already worked out a separation agreement covering support, parenting, and property.

Uncontested (sole) application. One spouse files and formally serves the other. If the other spouse does not file a response disputing the divorce or the relief sought, the case can usually proceed on the paper record without a hearing.

Contested application. The spouses disagree about the divorce itself or, more commonly, about corollary issues such as support or parenting. Contested cases move through case conferences and, if not settled, a trial. They take substantially longer and cost more than joint or uncontested applications.

Corollary Relief: Support and Parenting

A divorce application is often paired with a request for "corollary relief," meaning court orders on the issues that come with ending a marriage. For married spouses, the Divorce Act itself can address:

• Spousal support (section 15.2)
• Child support
• Parenting arrangements

Bill C-78 amendments to the Divorce Act, in force since March 1, 2021, changed the language courts and lawyers use for parenting. The old terms "custody" and "access" no longer appear in the Act. Orders now use decision-making responsibility (authority over major decisions like health care, education, and religion) and parenting time (the schedule a child spends with each parent), with contact orders available for non-spouses such as grandparents. The same amendments codified the best interests of the child factors that guide every parenting decision under section 16, including the child's views, their need for stability, and any history of family violence.

Why the Court Must See a Child Support Plan First

The Divorce Act requires the court to be satisfied that reasonable arrangements have been made for the support of any children of the marriage before it will grant the divorce. In practice this usually means confirming a child support amount consistent with the Federal Child Support Guidelines, which, unlike the advisory spousal support guidelines, are a binding federal regulation. If the arrangements on paper look inconsistent with the guidelines, a judge can ask for an explanation or decline to finalize the divorce until support is addressed. For a walkthrough of how amounts are calculated by province, see our Canada child support guide.

Divorce Is Federal, Property Division Is Provincial

The Divorce Act is federal legislation, and it governs the divorce itself along with spousal support and parenting for married spouses. It does not divide property. Dividing the family home, pensions, savings, and debts is governed entirely by provincial and territorial law, applied in separate (though often coordinated) proceedings:

• Ontario's Family Law Act provides for equalization of net family property
• British Columbia's Family Law Act provides for direct division of family property
• Quebec applies the patrimoine familial (family patrimony) rules under the Civil Code of Québec

Each province sets its own rules, deadlines, and exemptions for property division, so the outcome can look very different depending on where a couple lives. See our guide to dividing property on divorce for how this works, and our province pages on divorce in Ontario and divorce in BC for jurisdiction-specific detail.

The Divorce Timeline: From Filing to Certificate

While court processing times vary by province and by how busy a particular registry is, the overall sequence is the same across Canada.

Because provincial court rules set the response periods and processing queues, actual timelines vary. A well-prepared joint application in a province with lighter court backlogs can move faster than a contested application in a busier registry.

Related Resources

• Canada Family Law hub
• Divorce in Ontario
• Divorce in BC
• Dividing Property on Divorce
• Spousal Support in Canada
• Canada Child Support Laws
• Canada Spousal Support Calculator
• Canada Child Support Calculator

Disclaimer: This article explains the general divorce process under Canada's federal Divorce Act and is not legal advice. Provincial court procedures, deadlines, and forms vary, and property division rules differ by province. Speak with a licensed family law lawyer in your province about your specific situation.