Same-sex marriage in Ontario

Same-sex marriage in Canada
BC AB SK MB ON QC NB PE NS NL YT NT NU
Legal
Reference Re Same-Sex Marriage Halpern v Canada (AG) Civil Marriage Act
Parliament
38th House · 39th House
Same-sex marriage by province
Related
Civil unions in Quebec Adult interdependent relationship in Alberta Domestic partnership in Nova Scotia Common-law relationships in Manitoba
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Part of the LGBT rights series
Legal status of same-sex unions
Marriage Andorra Argentina Australia Austria Belgium Brazil Canada Chile Colombia Costa Rica Cuba Denmark Ecuador Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Iceland Ireland Liechtenstein* Luxembourg Malta Mexico Nepal Netherlands1 New Zealand2 Norway Portugal Slovenia South Africa Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan United Kingdom3 United States4 Uruguay Recognized Israel5
Civil unions and registered partnerships Bolivia Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Hungary Italy Israel5 Latvia* Monaco Montenegro Netherlands:   • Aruba San Marino United Kingdom:   • Bermuda   • Cayman Islands
Minimal recognition Bulgaria6 Cambodia:7   • 68 communes China:8   • Hong Kong9 India10 Japan11   • 462 jurisdictions Lithuania6 Namibia12 Netherlands:1   • Curaçao   • St Maarten Poland6 Romania13 Slovakia6
See also Same-sex union legislation Same-sex union court cases Timeline of same-sex marriage Recognition of same-sex unions in Africa Recognition of same-sex unions in Asia Recognition of same-sex unions in Europe Recognition of same-sex unions in the Americas Recognition of same-sex unions in Oceania Marriage privatization Divorce of same-sex couples Domestic partnership Military policy Adoption Listings by country LGBT rights by country or territory
Notes KoN: Performed in the Netherlands proper, including the Caribbean Netherlands. Registered in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten in such cases, but the rights of marriage are not guaranteed. NZ: Neither performed nor recognized in Niue, Tokelau, or the Cook Islands. UK: Neither performed nor recognized in six British Overseas Territories. US: Neither performed nor recognized in some tribal nations. Recognized but not performed in several other tribal nations and American Samoa. Israel: Registered foreign marriages confer all marriage rights. Domestic common-law marriages confer most rights of marriage. Domestic civil marriage recognized by some cities. EU: The Coman v. Romania ruling of the European Court of Justice obliges the state to provide residency rights for the foreign spouses of EU citizens. Some member states, including Romania, do not follow the ruling. Cambodia: Recognition of a "declaration of family relationship", which may be useful in matters such as housing, but they are not legally binding. China: Guardianship agreements, conferring some limited legal benefits, including decisions about medical and personal care. HK: Inheritance, guardianship rights, and residency rights for foreign spouses of legal residents. India: Courts have recognised guru–shishya, nata pratha or maitri karar–type contractual relationships, but they are not legally binding. Japan: Some cities and prefectures issue partnership certificates, but they are not legally binding. Namibia: Marriages conducted abroad between a Namibian national and a foreign spouse recognized for residency rights. Romania: Hospital visitation rights through a "legal representative" status. * Not yet in effect
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Same-sex marriage has been legal in Ontario since June 10, 2003. The first legal same-sex marriages performed in Ontario were of Kevin Bourassa to Joe Varnell, and Elaine Vautour to Anne Vautour, by Reverend Brent Hawkes on January 14, 2001.^[1] The legality of the marriages was questioned and they were not registered until after June 10, 2003,^[2] when the Court of Appeal for Ontario in Halpern v Canada (AG) upheld a lower court ruling which declared that defining marriage in heterosexual-only terms violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Ontario was the third jurisdiction in the world (after the Netherlands and Belgium) as well as the first jurisdiction in the Americas to legalise same-sex marriage.^[3] The first legal same-sex marriage registered in Ontario was that of Paula Barrero and Blanca Mejias, married by banns at the Emmanuel Howard Park United Church on September 29, 2001 by Reverend Cheri DiNovo and registered the same year. The Office of the Registrar General apparently did not recognise the names as both being women and issued a marriage certificate. The marriage licence form requested only the names of the bride and groom, not the sex of the applicants.^[4][5]

All of these marriages were authorised by calling the banns in the spouses' churches. The first civil marriage licence issued to a same-sex couple was to Michael Leshner and Michael Stark, who had the usual waiting period waived and completed the formalities of marriage just hours after the court ruling, on June 10, 2003.^[6]