Do common-law partners have property rights in Saskatchewan?

This answer covers the law of Saskatchewan.

Yes, common-law partners can have property rights in Saskatchewan if they lived together as spouses continuously for not less than two years. Under The Family Property Act, the word spouse includes an unmarried person who is cohabiting or has cohabited that way, and the Supreme Court of Canada has confirmed the Act applies to married spouses and to unmarried spouses who cohabited continuously for two years or more.

Once the Act applies, family property is distributed equally unless the court finds an equal distribution would be unfair and inequitable, considering factors such as any written agreement and how long you cohabited. The family home has a stricter test, requiring an extraordinary circumstance for an unequal split, unless the spouse with the children would otherwise be treated unfairly.

Some property falls outside the sharing. The exemptions cover property owned before the relationship, gifts from third parties and inheritances, though not the family home or household goods, and the court can override them where exempting would be unfair and inequitable. For unmarried partners, property acquired more than 24 months after cohabitation ended is also exempt. Whether your situation meets the two-year test depends on your facts, so a lawyer can confirm.