Is Quebec conservative or liberal with regard to family law? There have been two interesting developments in Quebec family law recently, making it hard to tell.
The first happened on April 25, 2025, when a Quebec superior court ruled that recognizing only two parents is an infringement of equality rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. What happened next is nothing short of astounding. Quebec will contest this ruling, with Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette saying, “The Quebec model we’ve chosen is two parents.”
The second consequential change was a longer time in coming. Bill 56, “an act respecting family law reform and establishing the parental union regime,” came into effect at the end of June 2025. The law forces all cohabiting Quebec couples who have a child born after June 30, 2025, to share at least some assets in the event their partnership dissolves. This marks the end of Quebec’s tenure as the only province in Canada that treated marriage and cohabitation as completely separate.
