Divorce in Canada: separation, support and parenting basics

In short: Ending a marriage in Canada is a two-part job. The federal Divorce Act grants the divorce and can order child support, spousal support and parenting arrangements — but only for married spouses. Everything else, and everyone else, runs on provincial family law, which also always governs how you split property. There is essentially one ground for divorce (breakdown of the marriage), and the most common way to show it is a one-year separation. CourtStairs answers questions like these in plain language, with citations to the actual statute that applies to you.

Divorce feels like one event, but legally it is several moving parts handled by different laws. Knowing which law does what — federal or provincial — is the difference between reading the right rule and the wrong one. This post walks through the four questions almost every separating couple faces: how to end the marriage, how child support works, how spousal support works, and how parenting is decided.

Which law governs a divorce in Canada — federal or provincial?

Both. The federal Divorce Act grants the divorce and can order support and parenting, but only for married spouses; provincial law governs property division and covers unmarried couples. The single most useful thing to understand is the split between federal and provincial jurisdiction. The Divorce Act is a federal statute that applies across the country — but only to people who are married and seeking a divorce. It can deal with the divorce itself, child support, spousal support and parenting orders. Provincial and territorial family law (Ontario's Family Law Act and Children's Law Reform Act, British Columbia's Family Law Act, Quebec's Civil Code, and so on) covers unmarried couples, married couples who separate without divorcing, and — importantly — the division of property, which the Divorce Act does not touch at all.

Here is who is governed by what:

Notice that even for a divorcing married couple, property is still a provincial question — for how the matrimonial home and assets get split, see our guide to dividing property on divorce in Canada. That provincial layer is why so many answers in Canadian family law end with "it depends on your province."

What are the grounds for divorce in Canada?

There is one legal ground — breakdown of the marriage — proven by one of three facts under section 8 of the Divorce Act: one year of separation, adultery, or cruelty. Despite the folklore, Canada does not have a menu of "grounds." Section 8 of the Divorce Act says a divorce is granted for one reason — breakdown of the marriage — which you establish in one of three ways:

1. One year of separationThe spouses have lived "separate and apart" for at least one year before the divorce is decided. This is a no-fault route and by far the most common. You can even be separated while living in the same home.
2. AdulteryOne spouse committed adultery, and the other has not forgiven (condoned) it. The spouse who committed it cannot use this ground.
3. CrueltyPhysical or mental cruelty of a kind that makes continued cohabitation intolerable.

Adultery and cruelty let you skip the one-year wait, but they require proof and inject fault into what is otherwise a no-fault system. In practice, most people simply wait out the year. A divorce also will not be granted until proper arrangements for child support are in place.

How is child support calculated in Canada?

Child support is set by a table amount under the Federal Child Support Guidelines, based on the paying parent's income, the number of children, and the payer's province — plus a proportional share of special expenses. Child support is the child's right, and neither parent can bargain it away. It is calculated mainly under the Federal Child Support Guidelines (SOR/97-175), which the provinces mirror closely. The core is the table amount: a monthly figure that turns on three inputs — the paying parent's income, the number of children, and the province where the payer lives.

On top of the table amount, parents share "special or extraordinary expenses" (section 7) — things like childcare, health premiums, orthodontics or post-secondary costs — in proportion to their incomes. Where children live roughly equally with both parents (shared parenting, generally 40% or more of the time each), the amount is adjusted to reflect both incomes. For a deeper look at how the tables and parenting time interact, see child support and custody in Canada.

How does spousal support work in Canada?

Spousal support is discretionary: a court first decides whether a spouse is entitled to support, then sets the amount and duration using the advisory Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines. Spousal support is more discretionary. A court first asks whether there is an entitlement — for example, because one spouse suffered an economic disadvantage from the relationship or its breakdown, or has ongoing need. Only then does it fix the amount and duration.

Here the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (SSAG) help. They are advisory, not law, but courts across Canada use them to find a reasonable range. There are two formulas: a without-child-support formula (amount roughly 1.5–2% of the gross income difference per year of cohabitation, up to 50%) and a with-child-support formula used when child support is also being paid. Longer marriages point toward longer, sometimes indefinite, support — under the SSAG "rule of 65," support may be indefinite where the years of marriage plus the recipient's age at separation total 65 or more.

Unmarried partners can also claim support in most provinces (Quebec is the notable exception), but they do so under provincial law once they meet the local definition of a spouse — not under the Divorce Act. We cover the thresholds and entitlements in common-law partner rights in Canada.

Did Canada replace custody and access?

Yes. Since March 1, 2021, the Divorce Act replaced "custody" and "access" with "decision-making responsibility" and "parenting time," decided by the best interests of the child. On March 1, 2021, major amendments to the Divorce Act changed the language of parenting. The old terms "custody" and "access" were retired in favour of:

• Decision-making responsibility — who makes major decisions about health, education, religion and significant activities.
• Parenting time — the schedule of time each parent spends with the child (formerly "access").
• Contact orders — time with important non-parents, such as grandparents.

The change is more than cosmetic: it reframes parenting around responsibilities rather than ownership, aiming to lower conflict. What did not change is the compass. Every parenting decision is governed by the best interests of the child — the only test — with the child's physical, emotional and psychological safety, security and well-being given primary consideration. The Act also adds structured rules for relocation (moving with a child), including notice requirements and who bears the burden of showing a move is or is not in the child's interests.

Several provinces have adopted parallel language. Ontario's Children's Law Reform Act, for instance, was amended to use "parenting time" and "decision-making responsibility" for unmarried parents too, so the vocabulary now largely lines up whether your case is federal or provincial.

How is divorce different in Quebec?

Married Quebecers divorce under the same federal Divorce Act, but Quebec's Civil Code — not other provinces' statutes — governs property, civil unions, and the rights of common-law spouses. As with most Canadian family law, Quebec stands apart. Married Quebecers still divorce under the federal Divorce Act like everyone else, and federal child-support rules apply. But Quebec's private law lives in the Civil Code of Québec, which governs property (the "family patrimony"), the dissolution of civil unions, and — critically — the rights of de facto (common-law) spouses, who historically had no support or property-division rights between themselves. Quebec's newer parental union regime, in force since June 30, 2025, gives some unmarried couples with a child limited property protection, but it does not create spousal support between the partners. If Quebec is your jurisdiction, read the Civil Code, not the other provinces' statutes.

Where CourtStairs fits

The recurring lesson is that "divorce law" is really several laws stitched together — federal for the divorce and support, provincial for property, and province-specific for unmarried couples. CourtStairs answers everyday questions like "what are the grounds for divorce?" or "how is child support calculated?" with citations to the primary source that actually applies — the Divorce Act, the Federal Child Support Guidelines, or your province's family-law statute — so you can read the rule yourself before relying on it.

This post is general information, not legal advice. Support figures, guideline amounts and parenting rules depend on your income, your province and your specific facts, and they change over time (the 2021 Divorce Act reforms and Quebec's 2025 parental union are recent examples). Confirm the current rule against the official statute, or speak with a family lawyer or notary, before acting on it.