The demise of parliamentary divorce in Ontario: The 1930 Divorce Act

The 1930 Divorce Act for Ontario, a federal statute, was a major landmark in Canadian divorce law. Before 1930, Ontario residents wanting a divorce had to secure a private Act of the federal Parliament, as did residents of Quebec and Prince Edward Island. People living in all other provinces had access to divorce through the provincial courts. It did not prove easy; five bills to grant divorce jurisdiction failed before the 1930 Act passed by a narrow margin. The debates over the divorce jurisdiction bills involved regional differences within and between provinces, denominational distinctions, and arguments about class and accessibility to this legal remedy for failed marriages. Most importantly, we argue, they concerned the deleterious effects of the national legislature having divorce jurisdiction on the institution of Parliament itself.