Montréal, Toronto, Vancouver: Canada hosts many French families. Divorce follows the federal Divorce Act, while property division depends on the province. Québec has civil law close to France’s with its own mandatory rules. Hague conventions govern child abduction and maintenance for certain provinces; France and Québec also have a bilateral arrangement.
An initial overview, not a consultation
This page outlines Canadian and Québec law and its connections with French law. It is an initial overview, not a consultation: every situation depends on specific facts and local law changes. For each case, I work with a colleague based in the province concerned, who confirms these initial details for your circumstances and acts before local courts when necessary.
0 — Your situation
You live in Montréal and one spouse wants to return to France. You are French, married to a Canadian and living in France. You bought property in Québec or Ontario. A parent went to Canada with the child.
1 — Which court?
In Canada. A provincial court can grant divorce if either spouse was habitually resident there for at least a year immediately before proceedings. One spouse meeting the condition is enough: a French national living in Montréal for over a year may file even if the other spouse remained in France.
Parallel proceedings. Both courts may have jurisdiction. Canadian courts may decline in favor of a more appropriate forum. Québec does so exceptionally but may stay a case between the same parties, based on the same facts and object, already pending abroad if the foreign decision can be recognized. French courts may defer if the future Canadian judgment can be recognized in France.
2 — Which law?
Before the Canadian court. The Divorce Act governs divorce, maintenance and children’s arrangements; provincial law governs property division.
3 — Recognition
In Canada. A foreign divorce is recognized if either former spouse had been habitually resident in the issuing country for a year before filing. Other recognition rules, notably a real and substantial connection, remain available. Québec recognizes foreign jurisdiction if a spouse was domiciled there or resident for a year, both spouses held that nationality, or the decision would be recognized in one of those States, subject to public policy and defense rights.
Divorce without a judge. No Canadian decision has yet addressed French divorce signed by lawyers; legal commentary is divided. Where a spouse lives or owns assets in Canada, a French judicial divorce approving the agreement is safer.
4 — Your relationship
Divorce in Canada. Marital breakdown is established by at least a year’s separation or adultery. Spousal maintenance depends notably on the relationship’s length and each spouse’s roles.
5 — Your children
France and Canada have applied the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention between them since 1 December 1983. Immediate return may be requested after wrongful removal; each province has a central authority. Canada signed the 1996 Convention in 2017 but it is not in force there. Recognition of French child-residence decisions depends on provincial rules and often requires a Canadian court order.
Since 1 March 2021, the Divorce Act uses parenting time and decision-making responsibility instead of custody and access, and regulates relocation. A parent must give at least sixty days’ notice with proposed arrangements; the other has thirty days to object. If parenting time is substantially equal, the moving parent proves the move is in the child’s best interests. If the child spends the vast majority of time with them, the other parent must prove the contrary.
Child support follows federal or, in Québec, provincial guidelines taking account of both incomes.
6 — Your assets
Québec family patrimony. Family homes, furnishings, vehicles, pension rights and Québec Pension Plan earnings accrued during marriage are generally divided equally regardless of matrimonial regime. Inherited or donated assets are excluded. Spouses cannot waive it in a marriage agreement, only after divorce. It applies to spouses domiciled in Québec, potentially surprising French couples married under separate property.
Québec matrimonial property. Without an agreement, the legal regime is partnership of acquests. Spouses married without an agreement follow the law of their domicile at marriage or, otherwise, their first common residence. French couples married in France therefore generally retain the French legal regime, while Québec family patrimony applies if domiciled there.
Common-law provinces. In Ontario, each spouse generally receives half the difference between their net family property values, claimed within two years of divorce or six years of separation. Other provinces have comparable rules with variations.
Assets and pension rights in Canada and France, and Québec family patrimony, require coordinating both courts and often notaries. Canadian pension rights accrued during marriage are divided under the province’s and scheme’s rules.
The 2007 Hague Maintenance Convention applies with Manitoba and Ontario from 1 February 2024, British Columbia from 1 March 2024, and Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan from 1 December 2026, but not Québec. The 1977 France–Québec judicial-assistance arrangement governs recognition, enforcement and recovery through justice ministries. Other provinces rely on reciprocity agreements.
Points to watch
Québec family patrimony applies even to French separate-property marriages when spouses are domiciled there.
Moving with a child, including to France, requires sixty days’ notice.
The 2007 Convention does not cover Québec: the France–Québec arrangement applies to maintenance.
Canada does not apply the 1996 Convention: parenting agreements need recognition in the province concerned.
7 — My support
An international consultation compares France and the province concerned. My Canadian colleague confirms local-law analysis and acts before Canadian courts. Negotiation or international family mediation in French or English seeks an agreement designed for recognition on both sides of the Atlantic.
Official texts and sources
Divorce Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. 3 (2nd Supp.))
Federal Child Support Guidelines (SOR/97-175)
Justice Canada: factsheets on the 2021 Divorce Act amendments
Civil Code of Québec (Articles 391, 414 to 426, 3089, 3123, 3135, 3137, 3155 and 3167)
Act implementing the judicial-assistance arrangement between France and Québec (CQLR, c. A-20.1)
Québec government: collection of support outside Québec
Ontario government: dividing property after separation
Hague Conference: Canadian provinces covered by the 2007 Convention
Hague Conference: status of the 1980 Child Abduction Convention
Hague Conference: status of the 1996 Child Protection Convention