Relocation With a Child in Ontario

What Counts as "Relocation" With a Child?

Not every move is a "relocation" in the legal sense. Under the federal Divorce Act, relocation has a specific meaning: a change in the residence of a child, or of a parent who has parenting time or decision-making responsibility, that is likely to have a significant impact on the child's relationship with someone else who has parenting time, decision-making responsibility, or contact with the child under a contact order.

In practice, the same physical distance can be treated very differently depending on the existing arrangement. A move a few neighbourhoods over may be an ordinary change of residence if it does not meaningfully disrupt the other parent's parenting time or involvement. The same distance can become a "relocation" if it would put the child in a different school district, add significant travel time, or otherwise make it materially harder for the other parent to maintain their current involvement. Because the threshold depends on effect, not distance alone, it is not always obvious in advance whether a move counts as a relocation — when in doubt, it is generally safer to treat it as one and follow the notice process below. This page focuses on moves that affect a child's relationship with the other parent; for a broader look at moving after separation generally, see moving after separation.

Why Relocation Rules Exist

Before the Divorce Act was amended, Canadian family law addressed relocation mainly through case law, with no single federal framework for notice obligations or the factors a court should weigh. Amendments that came into force on March 1, 2021 (often referred to by their bill number, Bill C-78) added a dedicated set of relocation provisions, giving parents and courts clearer, more consistent rules to work with.

The underlying goal is straightforward: a proposed move can significantly affect a child's relationship with a parent who is not moving, so that parent generally needs advance notice and a defined way to raise concerns beforehand, rather than learning about it afterward. At the same time, the framework avoids giving either parent an automatic veto, since an unreasonable objection can be just as harmful to a child as an unreasonable move.

Notice Requirements for a Proposed Relocation

The 2021 amendments added a general obligation on a parent who intends to relocate with a child to give advance written notice, in a specified form, to anyone else who has parenting time, decision-making responsibility, or contact with the child. Several secondary summaries of the notice regulations describe this period as at least 60 days before the expected date of the move, but because the precise figure is set by regulation and can be updated, confirm the current specific notice period with a legal professional or the Department of Justice's website before relying on it.

A notice of relocation generally needs to include information such as:

• The expected date of the proposed relocation
• The address of, and contact information for, the new place of residence
• A proposal for how parenting time, decision-making responsibility, or contact could be exercised after the move
• Any other information required by the applicable prescribed form

The Divorce Act also recognizes that written notice is not always safe or appropriate. A court can dispense with some or all notice requirements in specific circumstances, including situations involving family violence or a risk to safety. This is a decision for a court to make, generally on application, rather than something a parent should decide unilaterally.

If the Other Parent Objects

Once a person receives a notice of relocation, they generally have a limited window to respond if they disagree — commonly described as roughly 30 days — either by setting out an objection using a prescribed form or by starting a court application. As with the notice period itself, confirm the current specific deadline before relying on it, since it is also set by regulation.

If no valid objection is raised within that window, and no existing order or agreement would prevent it, the relocating parent may generally be able to proceed with the move as proposed. If a valid objection is raised, the relocation generally should not proceed as planned unless the parents reach a new agreement, or a court authorizes the move after considering the dispute. This is one of the main reasons the notice period exists — to create a window for these issues to be raised and resolved before a family has already relocated.

Who Has to Prove What: Burden of Proof

The 2021 amendments also introduced a general framework for who carries the burden of proving that a relocation is, or is not, in a child's best interests, depending on the existing parenting arrangement:

• Substantially equal time: if the child spends roughly equal time with each parent, the parent who wants to relocate generally has to show the move would be in the child's best interests.
• Child mostly with the relocating parent: if the child spends the large majority of their time with the parent who wants to relocate, the parent opposing the move generally has to show it would not be in the child's best interests.
• Other arrangements: in situations that don't clearly fit either pattern, both parents generally share the burden.

These rules can meaningfully affect how a relocation dispute unfolds, which is one reason it is worth understanding your existing parenting arrangement clearly before a relocation becomes an issue.

How Courts Decide Relocation Disputes

When parents cannot agree, a court deciding whether to authorize a relocation applies the Divorce Act's general best-interests-of-the-child framework, plus additional factors added specifically for relocation cases, generally including:

• The reasons for the proposed relocation
• The impact of the relocation on the child
• Each parent's amount of time with, and involvement in, the child's life
• Whether the relocating parent complied with applicable notice requirements
• Any existing order or agreement specifying the geographic area the child is to reside in
• The reasonableness of the relocating parent's proposal for adjusting parenting time, considering distance and travel costs
• Whether each parent has complied with their existing obligations, and the likelihood they will continue to

Notably, courts are directed not to consider whether the parent who wants to relocate would do so anyway, without the child, if refused — the focus stays on the child's best interests. Because these factors involve weighing a family's specific circumstances, relocation disputes are highly fact-specific, and general summaries like this one cannot predict how a particular case would be decided.

Relocating Within Ontario vs. Out of Province or Country

The same general Divorce Act framework applies no matter where a parent proposes to move — it is not automatically different for a move within Ontario versus one to another province or country. In practice, though, distance still matters a great deal to how a case unfolds. A move within Ontario, even a significant one, generally allows for some continued in-person parenting time. A move to another province, or especially outside Canada, tends to make in-person time far harder to maintain, often shifts weight onto virtual contact and holiday blocks, and can raise questions about which jurisdiction's courts and laws would apply going forward. Longer-distance relocations are generally the cases most likely to be contested and most likely to benefit from early legal advice.

Practical Steps Before Announcing a Move

1. Review your existing order or agreement

   Check whether it already addresses relocation, notice, or a specific geographic area the child must reside within, and consider whether the order or agreement would need updating.

2. Confirm whether the move would actually count as a "relocation"

   Consider the likely impact on the other parent's time and involvement, not just the distance involved.

3. Prepare a written notice in the appropriate form

   Include the proposed date, new address and contact details, and a realistic proposal for future parenting time.

4. Deliver notice well ahead of your target date

   Build in a buffer beyond the minimum notice period in case of an objection or delay.

5. Get legal advice before finalizing plans

   Especially for longer-distance moves, or if family violence or safety concerns are involved.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Assuming a move is too minor to count as a "relocation" without considering its actual impact on the other parent's time
• Moving first and providing notice afterward
• Using an informal notice (a text or verbal mention) instead of the prescribed written form
• Assuming silence from the other parent means they have agreed, rather than confirming this clearly
• Waiting until close to the moving date to seek legal advice if a dispute seems likely

Frequently Asked Questions