Same-sex marriage in Quebec

On March 19, 2004, the Quebec Court of Appeals ruled similarly to the Ontario and B.C. courts, upholding Hendricks and Leboeuf v. Quebec and ordering that it take effect immediately. [1] The couple who brought the suit, Michael Hendricks and René Leboeuf, immediately sought a marriage licence; the usual 20-day waiting period was waived, and they were wed on April 1 at the Palais de justice de Montréal.

The Quebec decision meant that more than two-thirds of the Canadian population were living in provinces where same-sex marriage is legal. Subsequent cases as well as federal legislation, have expanded this number to cover the entire country.

The Quebec government had previously legalized civil unions for both same-sex and opposite-sex partners. It included the right to adopt children jointly. See: Civil unions in Quebec.

In November 2004, the Marriage Act was amended by replacing the words "husband and wife" with "spouses". Therefore Quebec became the first province in Canada to add a gender neutral definition of spouse in its marriage laws.

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