27-04-2025
A child in Quebec can have more than 2 parents, Superior Court rules
Children in Quebec can have more than two parents, according to a Superior Court decision that now gives the provincial government 12 months to amend the Civil Code to legally recognize this type of family structure.
In a ruling issued on Thursday, Judge Andres C. Garin examined complaints from two separate cases.
The plaintiffs in those cases were La Coalition des familles LGBT+ — a group that seeks to have all families recognized regardless of how they're formed — as well as three families who were unable to put the names of three parents on their children's birth certificates.
The ruling examines the concept of filiation, which is the legal relationship between a child and parents that establishes rights and responsibilities, and whether the Civil Code of Quebec, as currently written, is equipped to recognize multi-parent families.
The judge determined that the Civil Code's inability to legally recognize multi-parent families violates the complainants' Canadian Charter right to equality.
"Having a maximum of two filiation links sends the message to multi-parent families and society in general that only families deemed "normal", with a maximum of two parents, represent family structures that are valid and worthy of legal recognition," the ruling reads.
"This message reinforces and perpetuates the disadvantages experienced by those who are part of a non-traditional family."
The judge also stressed that recognizing the rights of these families is in the best interest of the children as well as the parents.
Other Canadian and Quebec charter rights violations were alleged by the complainants:
The Canadian Charter right to life, liberty and security of the person.
The Quebec charter right to life, personal security, inviolability and freedom.
The Quebec Charter right to respect for one's private life.
The judge, however, disagreed with those claims.
At the time of publication, it was unclear whether Quebec planned to appeal this ruling. A spokesperson for Quebec Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette said the government is reviewing the judge's decision.
If the ruling stands and changes are eventually made to the Civil Code, Quebec would become the fifth province or territory in Canada to legally recognize families with at least three parents.
Under B.C. law, a child conceived through assisted reproduction can have up to three parents as long as there is a written agreement, and the law specifies which individuals are allowed to be part of that agreement.
In Ontario, up to four people can be recognized as the parents of a child, regardless of how the child is conceived. The same goes for Saskatchewan.
In Yukon, declarations of birth need to include the names of the child, the mother, the father and "another parent" if that applies.
The territory's Vital Statistics Act defines mother as "the woman from whom a child is delivered" and father as "a person who acknowledges being the biological father of a child."
The Quebec Superior Court ruling does not specify how the government should amend the Civil Code.
