Same-Sex Couples Adopting a Child in Ontario: Your Options

If you and your partner want to raise a child together, Ontario offers more than one legal path. You might adopt through a children's aid society, use a private or international process, adopt your partner's child, or become legal parents from birth through a written agreement or the assisted reproduction rules.

Which path fits depends on how the child came or will come into your family. This article lays out the main options and the rules that matter. It is general information, and a lawyer can confirm how it applies to your family.

Who can adopt in Ontario

Adoptive parents must be Ontario residents and can be a couple or a single person. An application may be made by one individual or jointly by two individuals who are spouses of each other.

No adoption order may be made on the application of a person who is not an Ontario resident, or for the adoption of a person who is not an Ontario resident. If one partner applies alone and is a spouse, the other spouse must give written consent.

The main adoption routes

Ontario recognizes four main types of adoption: public, private domestic, international, and adoption of a stepchild or relative who lives in Ontario. Ontario says the process can take at least a year and sometimes longer.

For public adoption, matching typically takes six months to two years or longer, followed by an adjustment period of at least six months before the court finalizes the adoption. These are general ranges, not fixed amounts or promises.

Adopting your partner's child

The court may make a family adoption order on the application of the child's relative, the child's parent, or the spouse of the child's parent. A placement with the spouse of the child's parent is exempt from the usual placement restrictions, as long as the child lives in Canada and the placement is within Ontario.

In a stepparent adoption, the parent who is married to or partnered with the stepparent stays a legal parent. The adoption does not remove them. Any other legal parent would generally need to consent, or the court would need to dispense with that consent.

Whether adoption is even necessary depends on how the child was conceived, which the next section explains.

Becoming legal parents without adoption

Parentage for children who are not adopted is decided under the Children's Law Reform Act (CLRA), and for adopted children under the CYFSA. Several CLRA rules matter to couples building a family.

• Assisted reproduction or a sperm donor: the birth parent's spouse is a legal parent without adoption, unless they did not consent before conception or withdrew their consent.
• Donor agreements: a sperm donor who agreed in writing before conception not to be a parent is not a parent.
• Pre-conception agreements: up to four parties, including the intended birth parent, can sign a written agreement to be the parents of a child yet to be conceived.
• Surrogacy: the written agreement must be made before conception, with independent legal advice for everyone, and intended parents become parents once the surrogate gives written relinquishment, which cannot happen until the child is seven days old.
• Court declarations: in other cases, a person with an interest may apply after the birth for a declaration that someone is or is not a parent.

The spousal rule does not apply to surrogacy or posthumous conception. A declaration that would create more than two parents generally must be sought within one year of the birth, must include all parents as parties, and needs proof that they intended before conception to be parents together.

What to do next

• Decide which path matches your family: adoption, stepparent adoption, or parentage by agreement or assisted reproduction.
• If you are planning a pregnancy, get written agreements in place before conception, since several rules turn on that timing.
• If you are adopting through an agency, ask about the homestudy and training steps and the expected timeline.
• Keep records of consents and agreements, and note any deadlines, such as the one-year window for some declarations.
• Speak with a lawyer early so you can choose the right route before you take formal steps.

Frequently asked questions