De Facto Relationships in Canada

Forthcoming in Jens M. Scherpe and Andy Hayward (eds.), The Legal Status of De Facto Relationships (Cambridge: Intersentia)

29 Pages Posted: 4 Apr 2022

See all articles by Robert Leckey

Robert Leckey

McGill University - Faculty of Law

Date Written: March 8, 2022

Abstract

This chapter surveys the legal approach to unmarried cohabitation in three Canadian provinces: British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec. The jurisdictions exemplify varying approaches: assimilating unmarried partners to married spouses for virtually all purposes, including them partly in family law, and applying a policy of laissez-faire, by which cohabitation entails no reciprocal rights and obligations under family law. Courts have, however, developed the general private law, chiefly unjust enrichment, to palliate the economic harms arising when cohabitation ends.

Keywords: unmarried cohabitation, Canada, family law, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec

JEL Classification: K19, K36

Suggested Citation

Leckey, Robert, De Facto Relationships in Canada (March 8, 2022). Forthcoming in Jens M. Scherpe and Andy Hayward (eds.), The Legal Status of De Facto Relationships (Cambridge: Intersentia), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4052699

Robert Leckey (Contact Author)

McGill University - Faculty of Law ( email )

3644 Peel Street
Montreal H3A 1W9, Quebec H3A 1W9
Canada
514-398-4148 (Phone)
514-398-4659 (Fax)

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