Common-law partner rights in Canada: property and support by province

In short: "Common-law" is not one status in Canada, it is ten. Whether you can claim a share of your partner’s property or ask for support depends almost entirely on the province. British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta now split family property between qualifying common-law partners much like married couples; Ontario and the Atlantic provinces do not, leaving you to prove a trust or unjust-enrichment claim; and Quebec gives de facto spouses no property-division or support right at all. CourtStairs answers questions like these in plain language, with citations to the actual statute for your province.

Millions of Canadians live together without marrying and assume the law treats them "basically like married couples" after a few years. It doesn’t. Family law is provincial, so the rights of an unmarried couple change completely at the border between Ontario and Quebec, or between Alberta and Nova Scotia. This post maps the two questions people actually worry about on separation, property and support, across the country, and debunks the myths that cause the most damage.

What two questions decide a common-law separation?

Every common-law split turns on two separate questions — property division and spousal support — and each province answers them differently. Almost every separation dispute for an unmarried couple splits into these two, and mixing them up is where people go wrong.

• Property division asks: do we share the value of what we bought during the relationship, especially the home? This is where provinces diverge the most.
• Spousal (partner) support asks: does one partner owe the other ongoing financial support? Here the country is far more consistent, with one huge exception.

Because common-law couples cannot use the federal Divorce Act (it applies only to married spouses), both questions are answered by provincial statutes.

Which provinces give common-law partners property rights?

British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta share family property with qualifying common-law partners; Ontario and the Atlantic provinces do not; and Quebec gives de facto spouses no property-division right at all. The figures below are the general rules as of 2026. Thresholds, exemptions (inheritances, pre-relationship assets) and registration options vary, so treat this as a map, not the final word.

Read down the "property" column and the story is clear: the four western/prairie provinces have moved common-law couples close to married-couple property sharing, Ontario and Atlantic Canada have not, and Quebec sits in a category of its own.

Why does Quebec give common-law couples the fewest rights?

In Quebec, de facto spouses (conjoints de fait) get no property division and no partner support, no matter how long they cohabited — a scheme the Supreme Court upheld as constitutional in 2013. Quebec has by far the largest share of couples living together unmarried, yet gives them the fewest rights. Its family patrimony and support obligations under the Civil Code of Québec apply only to spouses who are married or in a civil union, not to conjoints de fait (de facto spouses). In Quebec (Attorney General) v. A (the "Eric v. Lola" case), the Supreme Court of Canada in 2013 upheld that scheme as constitutional. The result: a de facto spouse in Quebec generally cannot claim support or a share of the other’s property, no matter how long they lived together or how many children they had.

That changed at the margins on June 30, 2025, when Quebec’s new parental union regime took effect. De facto couples who have a child born or adopted on or after that date are automatically covered by a parental union patrimony, essentially the family home, its furnishings, and vehicles used for family travel, which is shared on separation, along with protection of the family residence. Importantly, the parental union does not create a spousal-support obligation between the partners; it is aimed at protecting the family, not equalizing the adults’ finances.

Does it matter whose name is on the house?

In BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta title barely matters — family value is shared regardless; in Ontario and Atlantic Canada, the partner on title usually keeps the home unless the other proves a trust or unjust-enrichment claim. Outside Quebec, the common-law provinces fall into two clear camps on property, and which one you live in decides everything.

This is very different from how married couples divide assets, where an equalization or matrimonial-property regime applies automatically — see how property is divided in a Canadian divorce. For common-law partners in the "keep-your-own" provinces, the unjust-enrichment route is the fallback, and it exists everywhere. The Supreme Court in Kerr v. Baranow (2011) confirmed that where partners ran their lives as a joint family venture, one may owe the other a share of accumulated wealth, but you have to prove it, case by case.

Can a common-law partner claim spousal support?

Yes — in every province and territory except Quebec, a common-law partner can claim spousal support once they meet the provincial definition of a spouse (commonly two to three years of cohabitation, or sooner with a child). Support (called partner support in some provinces) is where the country largely agrees. The usual path:

1. Cohabitation thresholdLiving together continuously for a set period — commonly 3 years in Ontario (s. 29, Family Law Act), 2 years in BC, 3 years for an adult interdependent partner in Alberta.
2. Or a child togetherMost provinces drop the time requirement if the couple has a child by birth or adoption — support can apply almost immediately.
3. Entitlement, then amountYou must show a basis (economic disadvantage from the relationship or ongoing need), after which the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines help set the range.

Note that child support is different again: every parent owes it regardless of marital status, and it is never affected by whether the parents were married, common-law, or barely a couple at all. (For how that is calculated, see our guide to child support and custody in Canada.)

What common-law myths cause the most damage?

The most costly myth is that living together for a set number of years makes you "basically married" — it never does anywhere in Canada. Here are the beliefs that most often blow up on separation:

• "After X years, we’re basically married." False everywhere. Thresholds trigger some rights; they never equal marriage, and in Quebec they trigger almost nothing.
• "The house is half mine because we lived in it together." Only in the sharing provinces. In Ontario and Atlantic Canada, if you’re not on title you must prove a trust or unjust-enrichment claim.
• "Common-law partners inherit automatically." Usually false. In many provinces an unmarried partner who is left out of a will has weaker (or no) automatic inheritance rights than a married spouse — see what happens if you die without a will in Canada.
• "Quebec protects long-term couples like the rest of Canada." The opposite. Quebec gives de facto spouses the fewest rights, softened only slightly by the 2025 parental union for couples with a new child.

Where CourtStairs fits

The recurring lesson of Canadian family law is that the answer is provincial. CourtStairs answers questions like "can I claim the house?" or "do I owe support?" with citations to the primary source for your jurisdiction, the Family Law Act, your province’s Family Property Act, or the Civil Code of Québec, so you can read the rule in the statute itself before you rely on it.

This post is general information, not legal advice. Common-law property and support rules vary by province and by your specific facts, and they change over time (Quebec’s 2025 reform is a live example), so confirm the current rule against the official statute or a family lawyer before acting on it.