Same-sex marriage in Manitoba

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Manitoba since September 16, 2004. This change happened after a court in Manitoba decided that three couples who wanted to marry should be allowed to do so. The court said that the government should start giving out marriage licences to same-sex couples. Both the government of Manitoba and the national government said they would not fight this decision.

This ruling made Manitoba the fifth place in Canada where same-sex couples could get married. Other places that had already allowed this were Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, and Yukon. The court was influenced by what those other places had done.

Manitoba also began recognizing relationships where couples lived together without getting married. Since 2001, these common-law relationships have given some of the same rights and benefits as marriage.

Court ruling

In 1974, Chris Vogel and Richard North were married in a church in Winnipeg, but the government would not officially recognize their marriage. They tried to get a marriage licence, but were turned down. Later, in 2004, Vogel, North, and two other couples asked a court to allow same-sex marriages in Manitoba. They believed the ban on same-sex marriages broke important rights in Canada’s Charter.

On September 16, 2004, a judge in Manitoba ruled that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. This decision let same-sex couples get official marriage licences. Vogel and North did not remarry, as they had already been married for 30 years in a church ceremony. Two other couples were the first to get official marriage licences after the ruling.

Provincial legislation

Since 2001, same-sex couples in Manitoba could enter into government-recognized relationships. These relationships, called common-law relationships, gave couples some benefits like sharing money and property rules, but they were not the same as marriage. For example, if only one partner bought something, that partner would keep it after separating, unlike married couples who share everything equally.

In 2008, Manitoba changed its marriage laws to include same-sex couples. The government updated words like "husband and wife" to the fairer term "spouses." This change was officially approved on October 9, 2008, making Manitoba the fourth province in Canada, after Quebec, Ontario, and Prince Edward Island, to allow same-sex marriage. Now, couples could say their vows together in a official ceremony.

First Nations

The Indian Act affects many parts of life for First Nations in Canada, but it does not control marriage rules. Instead, marriage laws are mostly decided by provincial and territorial laws. However, the Indian Act can still influence things like band membership and property rights on reserves.

While there are no records of same-sex marriages in First Nations cultures as defined in Western law, many Indigenous communities recognize identities and relationships that might fit within what is called the LGBT spectrum today. One example is two-spirit individuals—people who show both masculine and feminine qualities. In some cultures, two-spirit people assigned male at birth wore women's clothing and took on roles usually linked to women. Historically, this identity sometimes allowed unions between two people of the same biological sex. For example, among the Plains Cree people, two-spirit individuals—called iyîhkwêw—were respected for their special spiritual powers and sometimes noted as shamans.

The Ojibwe call two-spirit people niizh manidoowag, a term that helped create the modern name “two-spirit.” Many of these individuals were part of households with more than one wife and were known as wiŋkta in the Dakota language. Some wiŋkta married men, while others lived alone in their own homes.

Marriage statistics

After a court decision, about 900 same-sex couples got married in Manitoba over twelve years. On average, about 79 same-sex marriages happened each year. The most happened in 2014, with 107 marriages. The 2016 Canadian census found that 1,710 same-sex couples were living in Manitoba.

Religious performance

In July 2019, a group within the Anglican Church of Canada decided that its different areas could choose whether to bless and perform marriages for same-sex couples. That same month, a leader said that clergy in one area would be allowed to do so starting in January 2020. Another leader supports these marriages but says he will only allow them with approval from his group's decision-makers. A leader from an Indigenous spiritual group opposes these marriages and does not allow them in her area.

Other religious groups also perform marriages for same-sex couples, including the United Church of Canada, Quakers, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, and the Canadian Unitarian Council. In 1974, a Unitarian minister officiated at what is considered the first same-sex marriage in Canada. In March 2023, a Mennonite church in Winnipeg was expelled from its larger group because it chose to support marriages for same-sex couples.