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    • All divorces in Canada must go through a civil court in order to be legally recognized. In 2008/2009, divorce cases represented more than one-tenth of all civil court cases, and more than one-third of all family cases proceeding through court.
    • A new divorce case is started when one or both parties in the marriage apply for a divorce with the court. In 2008/2009, there were just over 56,100 new divorce cases initiated in seven reporting provinces and territories—Nova Scotia, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Ontario represented almost 60% of this total, followed by British Columbia and Alberta at close to 20% each.
    • Among five of the reporting jurisdictions, the total number of new divorce cases has declined 6% over the four year period ending in 2008/2009. There have been steady declines in new cases in Nova Scotia, Ontario and British Columbia over the four years, while the territories have seen some year-to-year fluctuations. (Data for Alberta and Northwest Territories are not available for part of this time period).
    • New cases represented one-half of all divorce cases proceeding through civil court in the reporting provinces and territories in 2008/2009. This figure ranged from 20% for Nunavut to 60% for Ontario. 
    • In addition to new cases, in 2008/2009, civil courts processed another 56,000 ongoing divorce cases, or cases that had been initiated in a prior year. Three-quarters of all divorce cases in the reporting provinces and territories were no more than two years old.
    • Cases may involve a variety of activities as they proceed through civil court, with events ranging from the filing of documents, to hearings before a judge, to decisions that may dispose of part or all of the case. Document filings accounted for almost two-thirds (65%) of all event activity for divorce cases in 2008/2009, ranging from 58% of all events in Ontario divorce cases to 87% in the Northwest Territories.
    • Divorce cases rarely reach the trial stage. For cases initiated in 2005/2006 in four of the reporting provinces and territories, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Yukon and Nunavut, 3% had a trial during the next four years.1
    • Divorce cases may involve multiple dispositions, such as judgments or other decisions that resolve some or all of the case, over time. In over three-quarters (78%) of divorce cases in the reporting provinces and territories, the first disposition took place within the first six months of the case.

    Note

    1. Ontario has been excluded from the analysis since Ontario figures include trial hearings for uncontested divorces. An uncontested trial is a trial in which only the party making the claim provides evidence and submissions. The figures are therefore not comparable. Data for Alberta and Northwest Territories are not available for this time period, therefore they are also excluded.
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