Divorce vs Annulment

Both an annulment and a divorce are ways to legally end a marriage in Canada. Both annulments and divorces require an application to court and a court order ending the marriage.

Typically, people in Canada will get a divorce, not an annulment. This is because annulments are only available in a very limited number of unique circumstances.

The grounds for divorce and the ways to get a marriage annulled in Canada are described below.

Grounds for Divorce In Canada

Divorce is a legal dissolution of a marriage by a court. It is a court order ending a marriage. There are three grounds for divorce in Canada. They are:

1. Spouses being separated for at least one year,
2. Adultery
3. Cruelty

Almost all divorces in Canada are granted on the basis of the spouses living separate and apart for one year. Courts in Canada don’t usually want to listen to complaints of adultery because it is irrelevant to property division and support. In cases of cruelty (eg. domestic violence), people can get a divorce without having to live separate and apart for one year.

What are the Reasons People Can Get an Annulment in Canada?

You will rarely be able to get an annulment, because you would have to prove you and your spouse were not actually legally married in the first place. For example, you may not have been able to get married in the first place if:

1. One spouse was already married to someone else;
2. One spouse was under the age of 16;
3. One spouse was either 16 or 17 years old, but did not have his or her parents’ permission to get married;
4. The spouses are too closely related, either by blood or adoption;
5. One spouse did not understand what it meant to get married;
6. One spouse was forced into the marriage against their will (either by the other spouse or by anyone else);
7. If the person performing the marriage ceremony did not have the legal authority to marry people (they weren’t a real priest, rabbi, judge, or officiant, for example);
8. The marriage cannot be consummated (the spouses cannot have sex because of a physical or mental condition not known at the time of marriage). You cannot annul the marriage simply if one or both partners choose(s) not to have sex.

Religious Annulment

 A religious annulment does not legally end a marriage. Only a court order will legally end a marriage. A religious annulment ends the marriage in the eyes of the religious community, and may allow a person to remarry within the same religion.

Divorce or Annulment vs Religious Annulment

Even if your religion doesn’t recognize your divorce order from the court, you are still considered legally divorced in the eyes of the court and the government.

Sometimes, religions do not recognize a legal divorce as ending a marriage. So, even if a person gets a legal annulment or divorce, they sometimes can’t remarry within their religion without first getting a religious annulment.

The reasons a court will give a legal annulment might be different from the reasons a religion will give an annulment. You should speak to your religious leader (priest, rabbi, imam, etc.) to understand more about religious annulments.