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Applicant. In the Divorce Act of 1985, the applicant is the person or persons (husband, wife, or husband and wife jointly) who applied for a divorce. Joint application refers to a situation in which both spouses collaborate in the submission of an application. (See also Petitioner and respondent.)

Divorce. Divorce is the legal dissolution of a legal marriage. Divorce data are presented here on the basis of the province or territory where the decree was granted.

Divorce rates

  • Crude divorce rate. The number of divorces per 100,000 population.

  • Duration–specific divorce rate. The divorce rate in a particular year for a specific marriage cohort. For example, the 2004 divorce rate for persons married in 2004 (that is the 2004 marriage cohort) is calculated by dividing the number of 2004 divorces granted to persons married in 2004 by the number of marriages performed in 2004. When multiplied by 1,000, the result is expressed as the number of 2004 divorces per 1,000 marriages from 2004. (This rate incorporates a bias of unknown magnitude due to the death of some spouses during the period as well as in– and out–migration, that is, persons moving from one province or territory to another, or to or from Canada. Divorce records with an unknown year of marriage were distributed on the basis of divorces with known years of marriage.)

  • Total divorce rate (TDR). The sum of duration-specific divorce rates. In this publication, the summation goes back 50 years, that is, it accumulates divorce rates pertaining to marriages having taken place between 1955 and 2004. This measure is expressed as the proportion of married couples who are expected to divorce before their 50th anniversary, given the duration–specific divorce rates for 2004. For example, the 2004 Canada TDR of 413 per 1,000 marriages indicates that 41.3% of marriages performed in Canada in 2004 are expected to end in divorce before the 50th anniversary, if the conditions observed in 2004 remain stable.

  • Age–specific divorce rate. Number of divorces per 1,000 legally married men or women of the same age.

Duration of marriage. The duration of marriage is the amount of time elapsed (in years) between the marriage date (day, month and year) and the date the divorce decree was granted.

Marital status just prior to marriage. Used in the context of divorce statistics, marital status just prior to marriage is the marital status of the individual immediately before the marriage to which the divorce decree relates. Persons entering into a marriage may be single (never married), divorced or widowed.

Marriage. Prior to 2003, marriage was defined as the legal conjugal union of two persons of the opposite sex. Since 2003, the definition of marriage has been changed in some provinces and territories to include the legal conjugal union of two persons of the same sex. Common–law relationships are excluded.

  • Opposite–sex marriage. The legal conjugal union of two persons of the opposite sex. All marriages occurring in Canada prior to 2003 were opposite–sex marriages.

  • Same–sex marriage. The legal conjugal union of two persons of the same sex, that is two men or two women. There were no same–sex marriages in Canada prior to 2003.

The marriage data in this publication are presented by place of occurrence, that is, the province or territory where the marriage took place.

Mean age at divorce (or marriage). The mean (average) age at divorce (or marriage) in a province or territory was calculated by adding a half year to a spouse’s age at his or her last birthday and multiplying the result by the number of divorces (or marriages) of persons having that spouse’s age, summing those values, and then dividing the sum by the total number of divorces (or marriages) in that jurisdiction.

Median age at divorce (or marriage). The median is a measure of central tendency. It is the middle value in a set of ordered numbers (for example divorcing wives’ ages ranked form youngest to oldest). In the case of an even number of observations, the median is the average of the two middle values.

Petitioner and respondent. In the Divorce Act of 1968 (which preceded the Divorce Act of 1985), the petitioner was the person (husband or wife) who petitioned Parliament for a divorce. The petitioner’s spouse was the respondent. (See also Applicant.)

Population. The population estimates used for vital statistics rate calculations are updated postcensal estimates as of July 1, adjusted for net census undercoverage and include non-permanent residents. Net census undercoverage is the difference between census undercoverage and census overcoverage. The former refers to persons who were part of the census universe but were not enumerated in the census; the latter, to persons either enumerated more than once or enumerated but not part of the census universe. Non–permanent residents are persons claiming refugee status, persons holding a student or an employment authorization, or a Minister’s permit, and all non–Canadian–born dependents of the above individuals. Population estimates are frequently revised by Statistics Canada’s Demography Division (See tables footnotes for the source used).

Provinces and territories. The geographic distribution of divorces in the tables of this publication is based on place of occurrence, that is, the province or territory where the marriage took place. Nunavut came into being officially as a Territory of Canada on April 1, 1999. The name Northwest Territories applies to a Territory with different geographic boundaries before and after April 1, 1999.