Can I stop my ex from moving away with our child?

Yes, you can bring a court application to prevent the move — but the outcome depends on your parenting arrangements and the specific circumstances. You must act quickly. Under the Divorce Act, once you receive 60 days' notice of a proposed relocation, you have 30 days to file a court application objecting to the move. If you miss that window, the relocating parent may be able to proceed.

Once you file, the court typically issues an order preserving the status quo (keeping the child in place) until the matter is heard. The court then applies the best interests of the child test, which in relocation cases considers a specific list of factors.

The strength of your case depends significantly on how much parenting time you currently have. If you have roughly equal time, the burden falls on the relocating parent to show the move is in the child's best interests. If your ex has the vast majority of parenting time, the burden falls on you to show the move is not in the child's best interests. If your split falls somewhere in between, neither side carries a special burden — the court simply weighs whether the move is in the child's best interests based on the evidence.

Courts do not automatically side with the parent who objects. A well-reasoned relocation with a genuinely workable revised parenting plan can succeed even over objection.