Common-law relationships in Canada

Common-law relationships in Canada (conjoits de fait in Quebec) are cohabitation relationships which confer legal rights and obligations on couples who are not formally married. The relationships are recognised by provincial and federal law, for same-sex and different-sex unmarried couples. The scope of the rights and obligations varies from province to province, since these types of relationships are governed largely by provincial law.

Canada does not have the institution of common-law marriage, where a couple can be legally married by living together with an intention to be married, and without a formal ceremony.

However, informal cohabitation relationships are recognised for certain purposes in Canada, creating legal rights and obligations. The usual indicators are length of cohabitation, typically two years, or cohabitation with a child. In addition, some provinces have a formal registration system for cohabitation. These types of relationships are typically called "living common-law" in provinces other than Quebec, and "conjoints de fait" in Quebec, which does not use the common law.

Around one-fifth of Canadian couples are in common-law relationships, a three-fold increase from 1981, according to 2016 data from Statistics Canada.

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