In British Columbia, common law relationships are treated similarly to married couples for the purposes of dividing property or debt. Couples who have lived together in a ‘marriage-like relationship’ for more than two years (or who have a child together) are considered spouses under the Family Law Act. However, it is important to note that federal law defines the length of time for a common-law relationship differently. According to federal law, a couple is considered common-law after one year of living together in a “conjugal relationship” for things like taxes, immigration, Old Age Security pension, and more.

It is also worth noting that the number of common law families in BC is growing three times faster than the number of married couple families.