Couples ask us a version of this question every few weeks: can we get married in Canada if we do not live here? The short answer is yes, and the details are more straightforward than most people expect.
The legal position
Same-sex marriage has been legal across Canada since the Civil Marriage Act came into force on 20 July 2005. The Act defines marriage, for civil purposes, as the lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others. There is no separate category, no civil-partnership workaround, and no province where it does not apply.
Canada also does not impose a residency requirement to marry here. You do not need to be a citizen, a permanent resident, or to have lived in the country for any period of time.
One consequence worth knowing about
For several years there was a genuine problem for non-resident couples: they could marry in Canada, but if their home jurisdiction did not recognize the marriage, neither country would grant them a divorce. Canada amended the Civil Marriage Act to address this, adding provisions that let a court grant a divorce to spouses who married here, have lived apart for at least a year, and reside in places that do not recognize the marriage as valid.
It is not the cheerful part of wedding planning. It is worth knowing the door is not one-way.
The part that is actually provincial
Marriage licences are issued by provinces and territories, not by the federal government, and this is where the real planning happens.
In Ontario, for example, licences are issued by municipalities, are valid for three months from the date of issue, and the ceremony needs two witnesses and an authorized officiant. Québec sets its own rules for who may solemnize a marriage, and requires the ceremony to be conducted in French or English.
Every province differs on fees, waiting periods, and which documents it will accept from people who were born outside Canada. If you were married before, expect to provide proof that the previous marriage ended.
Check the requirements for the specific province hosting your ceremony, and do it before you book anything. This is the step that determines your timeline.
Your guests need more lead time than you do
You can arrive close to the date. Guests travelling from abroad often cannot.
Depending on nationality, they may need a visitor visa or an Electronic Travel Authorisation, and processing times vary enormously. Many will also want a letter of invitation. Collect passport-accurate names and addresses early, because a name that does not match a passport causes problems at exactly the wrong moment.
Give guests a real deadline for telling you whether they are coming, and make it earlier than feels necessary. An RSVP that arrives eight weeks out is not much use to someone who needed twelve weeks to get a visa.
Practical things that make it easier
Put the licence requirements on your wedding website rather than in messages. Guests planning international travel will read the same page repeatedly, and a page beats a thread they have to scroll.
If you are marrying in Québec or expecting guests from both language communities, publish your details in English and French. It removes an entire category of small misunderstandings about arrival times and venues.
And collect dietary, accessibility, and arrival information at the same time as the RSVP. Chasing it separately across time zones is its own small project.
MapleVow was built around two partner names rather than two roles, so nothing in the setup asks either of you to pick one. Guest pages can be published in English and French, and the whole thing is hosted in Canada.
We are a planning tool, not a legal service. Confirm the current requirements with the province where your ceremony will take place before you commit to a date.