The Constitution of Canada gives the federal Parliament exclusive jurisdiction to regulate the law of marriage and divorce.
These bills were primarily handled by the Senate of Canada where a special committee would undertake an investigation of a request for a divorce.
In 1963, provision was made for the Senate of Canada to be able to dispose of parliamentary divorce petitions by way of resolution instead of by a private Act.
[21] Residents of Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland could attempt to obtain a divorce in the United States, but the validity of such decrees could be subject to review in the Canadian courts on the issue of domicile.
[45] In one Quebec case, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that an agreement by divorcing parties, providing that the ex-husband would proceed forthwith to obtain a get, provided grounds for the ex-wife being able to obtain damages as a result of him reneging on it.
"[50] Later Canadian and foreign court proceedings revealed complications arising from the application of private international law, so that, while same-sex marriages solemnized in Canada may be legal when its jurisdiction, they must also be valid according to the rules of domicile that apply to the celebrants.
[54] The definition of "family violence" provides a non-exhaustive list of examples of coercive control, including forced confinement, harassment (including stalking), the failure to provide the necessities of life, psychological abuse, financial abuse, threats to kill or cause bodily harm to anyone, threats to harm or kill an animal or damage property, or actually doing so.