Child custody in Canada

Married parents who divorce are under the federal Divorce Act. It speaks of parenting time and decision-making responsibility, not custody, and the child's best interests are the only test.

Unmarried parents are under provincial law. In most provinces both parents are guardians, in some only if the father lived with the mother or is named on the birth registration. Quebec's civil code gives both parents parental authority.

The unmarried father, in one line: Differs by state, region or province.

The court decides by the child's best interests, with no presumption for equal time, and the Divorce Act says the child should have as much time with each parent as is consistent with their interests. Parents are encouraged to agree a parenting plan and to try mediation first.

The court considers the child's views and preferences according to age and maturity. There is no fixed age.

Under the Divorce Act a parent who wants to relocate must give 60 days' written notice and a proposed new parenting plan, and the other parent has 30 days to object. Provinces have their own rules for unmarried parents.

Canada is a party to the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention, which lets a parent ask for a child wrongly taken to another country to be returned. It works only with countries that have accepted its accession, so check the other country on the treaty status table.

• Because each province is different, the answer depends on where the family lives.

Canada belongs to the Common law family. Family law grows out of the legal tradition, so it helps to know how the system works.

Read the Canada legal-system profile in the Legal Families Atlas →
Who owns what in a marriage in Canada? →
Divorce rate and trend in Canada →

• Department of Justice Canada: family law