Family Building in Canada

Known donor arrangements

Legal nationwide; whether you become a legal parent without a court process depends on your province and on having a written pre-conception agreement.

Anonymous donation

No nationwide donor registry exists — the original 2004 federal registry provisions were repealed by 2012. Quebec is the exception: its new Register of Origin Information (in force June 2025) lets donor-conceived people access their donor's identity from age 14.

IVF / IUI

Available nationwide, but public funding is provincial and inconsistent — Ontario and Quebec each fund one IVF cycle regardless of relationship status or orientation; most other provinces offer little to no public funding.

Commercial surrogacy

Illegal nationwide — paying a surrogate beyond reimbursed "eligible expenses," or brokering surrogacy for profit, is a federal criminal offense under the Assisted Human Reproduction Act (up to $500,000 or 10 years in prison).

Altruistic surrogacy

Legal nationwide; a surrogate's eligible expenses — including, since June 2020, lost work income under specific medical-necessity conditions — can be reimbursed.

Legal parenthood without adoption

Ontario (All Families Are Equal Act) and British Columbia (Family Law Act) let intended parents become legal parents via a pre-conception written agreement; Quebec adopted similar notarized-agreement rules in March 2024. Ontario's version notably allows up to four adults to be recognized as legal parents through a single agreement — well beyond the two-parent limit most other countries impose. Other provinces and territories vary and may still require a post-birth court process.