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The Civil Marriage Act (French: Loi sur le mariage civil) is a federal statute legalizing same-sex marriage across Canada. At the time it became law, same-sex marriage had already been legalized by court decisions in all Canadian jurisdictions except Alberta, Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.
The Civil Marriage Act was introduced by Prime Minister Paul Martin's Liberal minority government to the House of Commons of Canada on February 1, 2005, as Bill C-38. It was passed by the House of Commons on June 28, 2005, and by the Senate on July 19, 2005, it received royal assent the following day.
Both parties must freely consent. Forcing somebody to get married is a criminal offence under s. 293.1 of the Criminal Code. [4] In addition, s. 2.1 of the Civil Marriage Act stipulates, "Marriage requires the free and enlightened consent of two persons to be the spouse of each other."
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Alberta since July 20, 2005 upon the granting of royal assent to the federal Civil Marriage Act. [1] Alberta was one of the four Canadian provinces and territories where same-sex marriage had not been legalised before the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act, along with Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
This article lists the members of the 38th Parliament of Canada and how they voted on the Civil Marriage Act (Bill C-38), which amended the Marriage Act of Canada to recognize same-sex marriage. The legislation was later challenged in the 39th Canadian Parliament.
Civil marriage should adapt to contemporary notions of marriage as an institution in a society which recognizes the rights of homosexual persons to non-discriminatory treatment." The court gave the Government of Canada until July 2, 2004 to change the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples, similar to the ruling issued in Ontario.
A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. [1] Such a marriage may be performed by a religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular .
On July 20, 2005, Canada became the fourth country in the world and the first country in the Americas to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide with the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act which provided a gender-neutral marriage definition.