Can a Parent Move Away With the Children in Manitoba?

A move to another city, province or country can change a child's school, routines and time with the other parent. That is why the law sets rules about notice and gives the other parent a chance to respond.

This article covers the notice timeline, the objection process and what a Manitoba court considers. Your own situation may turn on details, so use this as general background.

This article covers the law of Manitoba.

How much notice is required

A person who holds parenting time or decision-making responsibility and plans to relocate must give notice at least 60 days before the expected relocation. That rule appears in both the Divorce Act and the Family Law Act.

There is an exception. The court can exempt notice, for example where there is a risk of family violence. Family violence is defined as conduct by a family member toward another family member, and includes coercive and controlling behaviour and exposing a child to such conduct.

If you receive a relocation notice

Under the Family Law Act, an objection to a proposed relocation must be made within 30 days after receiving the notice. That is a short window, so do not wait to get advice.

• Note the date you received the notice.
• Keep the notice and any messages about the move.
• Speak with a lawyer about how to object and where to file.
• Consider whether mediation or another dispute resolution process could help.

How objection timing works under the Divorce Act depends on the facts, and a lawyer can confirm it for your case.

What the court looks at

A parenting order may authorize or prohibit the relocation of the child. In deciding, the court considers only the best interests of the child and gives primary consideration to the child's physical, emotional and psychological safety, security and well-being.

• The child's needs given age and stage of development, such as stability, and the strength of the child's relationships with parents, siblings, grandparents and others.
• Each person's willingness to support the child's relationships with others, and any plan for the child's care.
• Each person's ability to care for the child and to communicate and cooperate.
• Family violence and its impact.
• The child's views, given due weight according to age and maturity, unless they cannot be ascertained.

The exact tests a court applies to a relocation depend on the facts and on which law governs, so a lawyer can explain how they apply to you.

Moving without an order, and urgent situations

Without a parenting order, parents have joint rights to exercise parental responsibilities, but where the parents never lived together after the child's birth, the parent with whom the child resides is the only parent with decision-making responsibility, unless a parenting order says otherwise. This can affect how a relocation question arises.

If there is a concern that a child may be removed from Manitoba, urgent matters can go to an emergent hearing before triage. Existing orders can be varied, suspended or terminated only if the child's circumstances have changed since the original order.

What to do next

• If you receive notice, diarize the objection deadline right away.
• Prepare a plan showing how the child's schooling, care and relationships would continue.
• Keep communication calm and in writing where possible.
• Get legal advice early, especially if safety is a concern.

Frequently asked questions