1. Check if you and your partner can get married

You can marry a partner who is the same sex or the opposite sex. You don’t need to live in Ontario to get married in Ontario. You also don’t need to be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.

To get married in Ontario, you must be 16 years of age or older. If you are 16 or 17, you usually need written permission from both of your parents. If your parents are separated, usually only the parent has decision-making responsibility, which used to be called custody, needs to give permission. If you are 18 or older, you don’t need permission from your parents.

You and your partner cannot be married to anybody else, when you marry each other. If you were married before, you have to show proof of one of the following:

• you are divorced
• you had your marriage annulled
• your former partner died

You cannot be married to more than one person at a time. The law in Canada doesn’t allow more than two people to marry one another.

You and your partner must not be closely related, by blood or by adoption. This means that you cannot marry a brother or sister, half brother or sister, parent, grandparent, child, or grandchild.

You and your partner must agree to get married. You cannot be forced into it.

And you must understand what it means to get married. This means both of you know that some of your rights and responsibilities change when you get married.