Family law cases in civil courts, 2024/2025
Released: 2026-03-26
There were just over 278,500 family law cases active at some point in 2024/2025 in the six provinces and three territories that reported data to the Civil Court Survey (CCS). Of those cases, 108,273 (39%) were newly initiated and 170,230 (61%) were ongoing from a previous fiscal year. This reflects the continuing demand for legal resolution in areas such as divorce, parenting arrangements, financial support and other non-criminal family law matters (Chart 1, Chart 2, Table 1).
Chart 1
Number of family law cases, by case unit, 2014/2015 to 2024/2025
Civil courts are legal institutions focused on resolving disputes that do not involve criminal charges. From April 2024 to March 2025, family law cases represented around 30% of the active caseload in Canadian civil courts, which also address other general civil matters, such as personal injury and property damage lawsuits, contract disputes and bankruptcy cases.
This Daily release uses CCS data to provide an overview of family law cases that moved through the Canadian civil court system throughout 2024/2025.
Ongoing family law caseloads increase in 2024/2025, primarily because of administrative procedures
The number of active family law cases was 14% higher in 2024/2025 compared with the previous fiscal year. Most of the increase was due to a rise in cases ongoing from a previous fiscal year (+25%), mainly in Ontario. Much of this increase was related to administrative action taken on family law cases in civil courts (Chart 1, Table 1).
More specifically, the increase in ongoing cases in Ontario (+59%) in 2024/2025 was due to the province's courts resuming the process of dismissing "eligible cases after the expiry of certain timelines" (Notice to the Public and Legal Profession: Resuming Administrative Dismissals (February 28, 2024)), a procedure that was paused as a result of measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic (Table 1).
There was also an increase in the number of ongoing cases in Yukon (+68%) and Nunavut (+30%) in 2024/2025. That year, the Yukon Court Registry undertook an exercise to retroactively issue divorce certificates for all files that did not have one. Issuing these may have triggered activity in divorce cases that had been inactive for some time, leading to an influx in the number of ongoing cases (Table 1).
In Nunavut, child protection cases are subject to a mandatory review under the Child and Family Services Act, and these cases often return to court to terminate, extend or modify the terms of the protection order. In 2024/2025, more than one-third (37%) of the overall increase in ongoing family law cases in this territory were attributed to an increase in active child protection cases ongoing from a previous year (Table 1).
The remaining provinces and territories reported a relatively stable number of family law caseloads in 2024/2025 compared with 2023/2024 (Table 1).
Proportion of family law cases ongoing from a previous year continues to rise in 2024/2025
In 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in R v. Jordan set strict time limits for the completion of criminal trials, which resulted in resources being redirected from civil to criminal courts, causing delays and backlogs in civil courts (see Note to readers). These delays were likely compounded by the effects of the pandemic, when courts were forced to adjourn hearings and limit court activity to urgent and emergency matters.
In 2018/2019, two years following the R v. Jordan decision, ongoing family law cases made up more than half (52%) of the active family law caseload for the first time since the launch of the CCS in 2005. Following an upward trend, this proportion increased to three in five cases (61%) in 2024/2025 (Chart 1, Chart 2).
Chart 2
Proportion of newly initiated and ongoing family law cases, 2014/2015 to 2024/2025
Divorces represent almost half of active family law cases
Ontario and British Columbia are excluded from the family law case type breakdown in the following sections of this release because of inconsistencies in case type labelling.
While many issues in a divorce—such as property division, parenting arrangements and support—can be agreed upon privately or through family dispute resolution processes, court involvement is necessary to address unresolved issues and make the divorce official.
In 2024/2025, nearly half (45%) of the active family law caseload pertained to divorce applications. Divorce cases without issues accounted for 28% of family law cases, though issues regarding finances, children and property may have been dealt with earlier in a separation agreement (Chart 3, Table 2).
Chart 3
Proportion of active family law cases, by type of case, 2024/2025
Cases in which parties are seeking a divorce while requesting assistance in resolving issues of parenting, contact and support represented 17% of all active family law cases in 2024/2025 (see Note to readers for a list of family law case types and definitions) (Chart 3, Table 2).
People who are not legally married (e.g., common-law couples) can also access the civil court system to resolve family-related disputes. In 2024/2025, unmarried and/or common-law couples seeking only the resolution of parenting, contact and financial support issues represented 3% of the overall active family law caseload. Similarly, cases where only financial support was an issue accounted for 3% of the total caseload (Chart 3, Table 2).
The overall breakdown of active family law case types in 2024/2025 was comparable with that of 2023/2024 (Chart 3, Table 2).
Family protection cases
When a child protection agency learns of child abuse, whether physical, sexual, psychological or emotional, it can apply to the court for a child protection order to either supervise the child's time with their parents or, in some cases, remove the child from the situation entirely.
Meanwhile, an adult experiencing or at risk of experiencing family or spousal violence can apply to the court for a civil protection order.
Overall, there were 2,879 new child protection applications initiated in civil courts in 2024/2025, which is 4% less than in 2023/2024. A 6% decrease was reported in the number of new family law cases involving a civil protection application initiated in 2024/2025 (Table 2).
Often, the first event in a protection case involves an emergency protection order. Protection applications are typically prioritized by the courts, resulting in a shorter median number of days to reach a first disposition, compared with other case types. In 2024/2025, child protection cases (seven days) and family law cases involving a civil protection application (two days) took the same amount of time as in the previous year (Table 3).
Child support is the most frequently sought type of financial support
Over one in four active family law cases (27%) in 2024/2025 reported financial support being an issue requiring resolution from the courts. Child support was the only type of support sought in over half (56%) of these cases. Other types of support requested included spousal (8%), child and spousal (8%) and unspecified (28%) (Table 2, Table 4).
In 2024/2025, 81% of active family law cases with support issues were ongoing from a previous year, largely unchanged (-1 percentage point) from 2023/2024. Support issues often take considerable time and court resources to resolve because of complex financial disclosures and contested positions between parties (Table 2, Table 4).
Meanwhile, there were more new spousal support cases (+4%) and more cases with both child and spousal support issues (+6%) in 2024/2025 than in the previous fiscal year (Table 2, Table 4).
The median number of days to first disposition continues to decline
Periods of inactivity may complicate efforts to determine the actual length of a family law case. One measure to analyze delays is the average amount of time required for a case to reach a first disposition (e.g., settlement, stay, dismissal, judgment, expiration of time limits, transfer to other courts).
A first disposition was reached in family law cases within a median of 48 days in 2024/2025, the shortest number of days since all current respondents began reporting to the CCS in 2014/2015 (Chart 4, Table 3).
Chart 4
Median days from case initiation to first disposition in active family law cases, 2014/2015 to 2024/2025
Legal representation
Legal representation in family law cases is intended to help ensure that legal decisions respect family law requirements while also prioritizing the best interests of the children involved.
Information on the legal representation of applicants and respondents was reported by four provinces in 2024/2025: Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ontario. In total, information on legal representation was available for applicants in 57% of cases and for respondents in 41% of cases.
In roughly three in five active family law cases (61%) in 2024/2025, at least one applicant was reported as having legal representation at some point throughout the case and no self-representation at any point. In approximately one-third (33%) of active cases, at least one applicant was reported as being self-represented at some point, and no legal representation was identified for any applicants at any point (Chart 5).
Conversely, at least one respondent was reported as being self-represented at some point during the case in nearly two-thirds (65%) of family law cases active in 2024/2025; within these cases, no respondents were legally represented at any point. In 21% of cases reported, at least one respondent had legal representation at some point during the case, and there were no self-represented respondents at any point (Chart 5).
Overall, the proportion of cases in which both legal representation and self-representation were recorded throughout the case was higher for respondents (14%) than for applicants (5%) (Chart 5).
Chart 5
Proportion of represented and self-represented applicants and respondents in active family law cases, 2024/2025
Active, newly initiated and ongoing family law cases, by type of case, 2023/2024 to 2024/2025
Note to readers
The Civil Court Survey (CCS), launched in 2005, collects information on family and non-family civil court cases from the provinces and territories at both the superior and provincial or territorial court levels. The CCS includes data from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. It is important to note that family law data from Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta generally account for more than 90% of the active family law cases reported to the CCS. This release excludes data from Saskatchewan because of data availability. Criminal court cases are out of scope for this survey. Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding. Fiscal years reported in the CCS are from April 1 to March 31.
Active caseloads in the courts are measured by the number of cases that recorded at least one court event that moved all or part of the case through the court process during the fiscal year and thus include newly initiated cases.
Newly initiated family law cases refer to cases newly started during the reference fiscal year.
Ongoing family law cases refer to cases initiated in a previous fiscal year with activity recorded in a subsequent fiscal year.
Family law cases are cases involving issues related to family law, including child protection, divorce, separation, parenting, contact, support, division of property and adoption.
As a result of amendments made to the Divorce Act through Bill C-78, there have been changes in the terminology used. The act no longer uses the terms "custody" and "access" but rather "parenting time" and "decision-making responsibility" with respect to children. Parenting time and decision-making responsibility would be assigned under a parenting order. As such, the term "parenting" is used in the CCS for all fiscal years post-2021/2022.
When someone other than a spouse wants time in a child's schedule to visit or communicate with the child and the parents do not agree, a court may—when it is in the child's best interests—grant a contact order to third parties, such as non-spouses, grandparents or other relatives who wish to spend time with the child. It is important to note that some provinces and territories continue to use the terms "access" and "custody." As such, in those jurisdictions, cases with access issues may be included in cases that are identified as having contact issues and may include contact or communication between children and a parent or a third party.
The family law case types examined in this release are defined as follows:
Divorce cases refer to cases in civil court dealing with the legal dissolution of a legal marriage. A case is counted as a divorce case if divorce has been one of the issues reported for the case, over the length of the case. Information from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is included.
Divorce cases without issues involve applications to the court to dissolve a marriage in which no issues of access, custody, parenting, contact or support (in accordance with provincial, territorial or federal law) have been identified, though the couple may have dealt with these issues earlier in a separation agreement. These case types may include issues related to the division of matrimonial property. The proportion of active cases classified as "divorce cases without issues" may decrease over time as issues are identified in the case. Information from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is included.
Divorce cases with issues refer to divorce cases in which one or more issues of access, custody, parenting, contact or support (in accordance with provincial, territorial or federal law) have been identified. This category may include one or more issues of support, namely child support, spousal support and unspecified support. Information from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is included.
Divorce cases with support issues refer to divorce cases with one or more issues of support and no parenting or contact issues identified. The issue of support may include one or more issues of child support, spousal support and unspecified support. Information from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is included.
Divorce cases with child support issues refer to divorce cases with one or more issues of child support identified. Information from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is included.
Divorce cases with spousal support issues refer to divorce cases with one or more issues of spousal support identified. Information from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is included.
Divorce cases with child and spousal support issues refer to divorce cases with one or more issues of child and spousal support identified. Information from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is included.
Divorce cases with unspecified support issues refer to divorce cases with one or more issues of unspecified support identified. Information from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta and Nunavut is included.
Child protection cases include applications to the court by the government for orders seeking the supervision of parents, guardians or caregivers, or the apprehension of children into government care because of issues of parental abuse, neglect or incapacity. A case is counted as a child protection case if child protection has been one of the issues reported (and no issue of divorce has been identified) over the length of the case. Information from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is included.
The following categories include family law cases with no issue of divorce or child protection identified:
Parenting cases refer to cases with one or more parenting issues but no support identified. Information from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is included.
Parenting and contact cases refer to cases with parenting or contact issues, as well as cases with both parenting and contact issues but no support identified. Information from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is included.
Parenting and support cases refer to cases with at least one parenting and one support issue identified. The issue of support may include one or more issues of child support, spousal support and unspecified support. Information from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is included.
Parenting cases with child support issues refer to cases with parenting issues and one or more issues of child support identified. Information from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is included.
Parenting cases with spousal support issues refer to cases with parenting issues and one or more issues of spousal support identified. Information from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is included.
Parenting cases with child and spousal support issues refer to cases with parenting issues and one or more issues of child and spousal support identified. Information from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is included.
Parenting cases with unspecified support issues only refer to cases with parenting issues and one or more issues of unspecified support identified. Information from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is included.
Parenting and contact and support cases refer to cases with parenting, contact and one or more support issues and may include cases with only contact and one or more support issues identified. The issue of support may include one or more issues of child support, spousal support and unspecified support. Information from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is included.
Parenting and contact cases with child support issues refer to cases with parenting and contact issues and one or more issues of child support as well as contact cases with one or more issues of child support identified. Information from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is included.
Parenting and contact cases with spousal support issues refer to cases with parenting and contact issues and one or more issues of spousal support as well as contact cases with one or more issues of spousal support identified. Information from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta and the Northwest Territories is included.
Parenting and contact cases with child and spousal support issues refer to cases with parenting and contact issues and one or more issues of child and spousal support as well as contact cases with one or more issues of child and spousal support identified. Information from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is included.
Parenting and contact cases with unspecified support issues only refer to cases with parenting and contact issues and one or more issues of unspecified support as well as contact cases with one or more issues of unspecified support identified. Information from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta and the Northwest Territories is included.
Support only cases include cases in which one or more issues of support have been identified but no issues of custody, access, parenting or contact (in accordance with provincial, territorial or federal law) have been identified. Support issues may include child support, spousal support and unspecified support. These case types may include support matters that are not specifically identified, but it is important to note that applications for divorce are not included in this category. Information from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is included.
Support only cases with child support issues refer to cases with one or more issues of child support identified. It is important to note that applications for divorce are not included in this category. Information from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is included.
Support only cases with spousal support issues refer to cases with one or more issues of spousal support identified. It is important to note that applications for divorce are not included in this category. Information from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is included.
Support only cases with child and spousal support issues refer to cases with one or more issues of child and spousal support identified. It is important to note that applications for divorce are not included in this category. Information from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is included.
Support only cases with unspecified support issues refer to cases with one or more issues of unspecified support identified. It is important to note that applications for divorce are not included in this category. Information from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is included.
Other family law cases include separation, guardianship of a child or children excluding applications by government agencies in child protection cases, enforcement of court orders, property, parentage, adoption, civil protection, constitutional or charter and other family-related disputes and cases in which issues have not yet been recorded. A portion of the active cases classified as "other family" may change over time as more issues are identified in the case. Information from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is included.
Unknown family law cases include all other family law cases not specifically identified. Information from Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Alberta and the Northwest Territories is included.
Family law cases involving a civil protection application include applications to the family court by individuals seeking orders to ensure their safety, such as protection orders and restraining orders. These case types should be interpreted separately from other case types because of the methodology required to query these data. Applications under Nova Scotia's Domestic Violence Intervention Act are excluded. Information from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is included.
Family law cases not involving a civil protection application include family law cases without an application for protection. These case types should be interpreted separately from other case types because of the methodology required to query these data. Information from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is included.
Given that the data are derived from records originally kept for non-statistical purposes, complete survey information is not always available. For example, information related to issues such as parenting, contact and support may not always be available from the court information systems and, as such, may be underreported.
Jurisdictional reporting limitations:
Ontario and British Columbia are excluded from the family law case type breakdowns in this release because of inconsistencies in case type labelling.
In Nova Scotia, divorce cases with issues identified and the subcategories of parenting, contact and support are underreported because of limitations in the system capacity to report secondary issues.
In Prince Edward Island, the issues of parenting, contact and support may be underreported because these issues are not typically captured when cases are first initiated and are instead identified from activity (such as judgments) over the length of the case.
A disposition is a court event that disposes part or all of the civil case (e.g., settlement, consent judgment and judgment). Disposition events may also include cases that are transferred permanently to another court location, court level or type of court. Therefore, it is important to note that the case may not necessarily be disposed of but rather continued in another court. A case may have more than one type of disposition associated with it. The median number of days to first disposition in the Northwest Territories may be overestimated because of reporting limitations.
Legal representation data for applicants and respondents are available from civil courts in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ontario. Caution should be exercised when interpreting legal representation outcomes because of the limited proportion of cases for which this information is available.
The proportion of cases for litigants that were both self-represented and represented throughout a case may be underestimated because of reporting limitations.
The CCS National Data Requirements labels the left-hand and right-hand parties "plaintiffs" and "defendants," respectively. For the purpose of the family law cases profiled in this release, "applicant" and "respondent" are used.
Self-represented includes both self-represented and unrepresented litigants as classified in the CCS National Data Requirements. However, the CCS is unable to differentiate between self-represented and unrepresented litigants.
Represented includes applicants and respondents with a legal aid lawyer, non-legal-aid lawyer and duty counsel.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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