a. Establishment of parentage is available administratively; no DOP required provided certain pre-conception criteria are met; however, a DOP is available if IPs wish to pursue it or if pre-conception criteria not met.

b. Child must be conceived using ART (not sexual intercourse).

c. Birth initially registered in name of GC as ‘mother’.

d. Genetic link between at least one IP and child must exist for IPS to obtain parentage, regardless of whether IPs pursue DOP or administrative route.

e. For administrative route, after birth:

• a Statutory Declaration must be filed with the provincial Registrar affirming that a written agreement is in place (must be in place prior to child being conceived) and that all parties had ILA;
• written consent of the GC to relinquish child to the IPs is required; and
• on receipt of required documents, Registrar ‘may’ amend the initial birth registration (contrast to the DOP route, which provides that upon receipt of a DOP, the Registrar ‘must’ amend the initial birth registration).

a. Establishment of parentage requires a DOP; child must be conceived using ‘assisted conception’ (not sexual intercourse).

b. DOP requires:

• that there be a pre-conception written agreement;
• parties had ILA on the agreement;
• written consent of the GC to relinquish child to the IPs after the birth; and
• no waiting period after birth required to commence DOP .

c. No genetic link required.

a. No specific surrogacy legislation.

b. Establishment of parentage requires a DOP.

c. Birth initially registered in name of GC as ‘mother’ and if she is unmarried or separated, IF as ‘father.

d. DOP required to change the initial birth document to remove GC (and her spouse, if applicable) and insert IM as ‘mother’ and if applicable, IF as ‘father’.

e. On receipt of DOP (can be from another Canadian jurisdiction), Registrar will amend the birth registration to remove GC as ‘mother’ and insert IM as ‘mother’.

f. Legislation does not indicate a required genetic link.

a. New, complicated process introduced in March, 2024 requiring a surrogacy ‘Parenting Project’ in order for IPs to get parentage includes:

I.

• If all parties reside in Quebec, they must be living in Quebec for at least one year prior to signing the surrogacy agreement;
• surrogacy agreement must be in French and approved by the Quebec Minister; requires police search, which can take a long time (approximately 6 weeks) prior to the agreement being signed;
• agreement must be signed before conception, drafted and signed by a notary (a notary has specific professional status in Quebec, and is considered different from a lawyer);
• GC must receive relevant counselling;
• post birth consent of GC to relinquish parentage cannot be given before the child is 7 days old and no later than 30 days post birth; and,
• If conditions are met, the child’s birth is declared to the Registrar of Civil Status.

II.

• If IPs reside in Quebec and GC resides outside Quebec, agreement still must be approved by the Quebec Minister, and a police search is required prior to the agreement being signed;
• IPs must be resident in Quebec for at least one year prior to the agreement being signed;
• jurisdiction of GC must be pre-approved by the Quebec Minister; and
• DOP for child obtained in Province of birth must be legally recognized in Quebec by the appropriate Quebec Court; may not be recognized if rules not properly followed .

a. Establishment of parentage is available administratively; no DOP required, provided certain pre-conception criteria are met; however, a DOP is required if pre-conception criteria are not met or there are more than four intended parents.

b. Legislative criteria for the administrative route include:

• child conceived using ART (not sexual intercourse);
• pre-conception written agreement;
• all parties had ILA on the agreement;
• written consent of the GC to relinquish the child to the IPs after the birth; cannot be until child is at least 7 days old; and
• no more than four intended parents.

c. DOP:

• required if pre-conception criteria for administrative filing not met and/or there are more than 4 intended parents;
• depending on which Ontario court the DOP proceeds, the matter may be decided in as little as 1-2 days after the documents are filed with the court;
• certified copy of DOP Court order must be provided to the Registrar so the birth can be registered in the names of the IPs without reference to the GC; and
• court application must be brought within one year of birth, or permission of the court is required to proceed.

d. No genetic link required for either administrative or DOP route.

a. Establishment of parentage requires a DOP; child must be conceived using ART (not sexual intercourse) .

b. Birth initially registered in name of GC as ‘mother’ together with one of the IPs.

c. DOP required to remove GC and replace IM as ‘mother’.

d. DOP requires:

• that there be a pre-conception written agreement;
• parties had ILA on the agreement;
• written consent of the GC to relinquish child to the IPs after the birth cannot be until child is at least 2 days old and not more than 30 days after birth; and
• application must be brought within 30 days of birth.

e. Genetic link not required.

a. Establishment of parentage requires a DOP; child must be conceived via method other than sexual intercourse.

b. Birth initially registered in name of GC as ‘mother’ together with both IPs (or one IP if a single intended parent).

c. DOP required to remove GC as ‘mother’.

d. DOP requires:

• that there be a pre-conception written agreement;
• parties had ILA on the agreement;
• written consent of the GC to relinquish child to the IPs after the birth cannot be until child is at least 3 days old; and
• application must be brought within 90 days of birth.

e. Genetic link not required.

a. Establishment of parentage requires a DOP; child must be conceived using ART (not sexual intercourse).

b. Birth initially registered in name of GC as ‘mother’ together with IF as father.

c. DOP required to remove GC as ‘mother’ and replace with IM; this is done after the birth, but before the initial birth certificate is issued.

d. DOP requires that court application be brought within 30 days of birth.

e. Genetic link required between at least one IP and child.

a. Establishment of parentage can be done administratively if legislative criteria met.

b. Criteria include

• that there be a pre-conception written agreement;
• parties had ILA on the agreement; and
• child conceived using ART (not sexual intercourse).

After birth:

• written consent of the GC to relinquish child to the IPs after the birth; and
• IPs take child into their care.

c. Though legislation refers to two parents, BC law allows for more.

d. Genetic link not required.

a. Legislation does not refer to surrogacy or gamete donation.

b. DOP may be available.

c. Definition of ‘parents’ is limited to ‘natural’ parents, with reference to DNA testing, if necessary.

a. Legislation does not expressly address surrogacy.

b. There is one legislative provision of the Children’s Law Act that states that a spouse of a person whose intention is to relinquish the child to ‘a person whose human reproductive material was used in the assisted reproduction’ is not a parent; therefore, it is possible that the IPs may be able to apply for a DOP.

Again, this depends on which province the child is born in. In Ontario and British Columbia, the answer is generally, yes.

This depends on which Province the child is born in. Contact Shirley to learn more.