The Family Law Act does not define “marriage-like relationships,” so the definition is determined on a case-by-case basis, and it evolves over time as new cases are decided in the courts. For example, the courts in British Columbia used to consider “financial dependence” to be an essential aspect of a “marriage-like relationship.” Financial dependence is still a relevant factor, but the courts have recognized that many spouses in modern common-law relationships keep their finances, assets, and debts separate.

There isn’t a specific “check-list” that the courts will use to determine whether two people were in a “marriage-like relationship,” when it began, or when it ended. If two people have a dispute about any of these issues, there are several factors the courts will consider, none of which are determinative alone. Some of these considerations include:

• the subjective intentions of the parties;
• whether both parties had only one shared residence, or if either party maintained a separate address while they shared a residence;
• whether the parties co-mingled their finances or shared their household expenses;
• whether the parties filed their income tax returns as single, common law, married, or separated;
• whether either of the parties included the other on an extended health benefits policy;
• whether either party accepted the role of a step-parent to the other’s children from a previous relationship;
• whether the parties expressed their love and commitment to each other. For example, text messages or emails in which they expressed their love, discussed marriage, offered emotional support; or made shared plans for the future. For example, discussing plans to move to a new city together or conceive a child;
• significant or intimate gifts provided to each other, such as an engagement ring or a pet;
• whether the parties introduced each other or referred to each other as their “girlfriend,” “boyfriend,” “partner,” “wife,” “husband,” or “spouse”;
• whether the people acted as a couple and did things that couples typically do, like travelling together or going out on dates together;
• whether the parties considered each other when planning their wills and estates;
• whether third parties considered them to be “a couple”; and
• whether the parties shared a bed and/or were sexually intimate with each other.

If several of the above factors apply, the courts may consider the relationship to be “marriage-like,” regardless of the parties’ genders. Canadian courts officially recognized that people of the same gender may be “spouses” living in “marriage-like relationships” in 2005.

See Am I in a common law relationship? and What is my “Date of Cohabitation” and what is my “Date of Separation”?