Notice of Relocation | Divorce Act s.16.9 & Form 1

The Divorce Act draws a sharp line between two kinds of moves. A simple change of residence, such as moving across town with no effect on the schedule, only requires written notice of the date and new address under section 16.8. A relocation is different. Section 2(1) defines it as a change in the place of residence of the child, or of a person who has parenting time, decision-making responsibility or a pending application for a parenting order, that is likely to have a significant impact on the child's relationship with another person holding one of those roles or contact under a contact order. Distance alone is never the test; the effect on the parenting schedule is.

A notice of relocation is not an agreement and does not need the other parent's signature. It is a unilateral statutory notice that starts two clocks: the 60-day minimum before the move and the 30-day window to object. What separates a usable notice from an ordinary letter is the parenting proposal. A notice of relocation that simply announces a move to Calgary at the end of the school year, without explaining how the other parent will keep a meaningful relationship with the child, gives a judge an easy reason to find the plan unreasonable.

The relocation regime was added to the Divorce Act by Bill C-78 (S.C. 2019, c. 16) and has applied since March 1, 2021. Section 16.9(1) requires a person with parenting time or decision-making responsibility who intends to relocate to notify every other person with parenting time, decision-making responsibility or contact under a contact order, at least 60 days before the expected date. Section 16.9(2) fixes the content: the expected date, the new address and contact information, and a proposal for how parenting time, decision-making responsibility or contact should be exercised. Under the Notice of Relocation Regulations, SOR/2020-249, the notice is given by providing the information set out in Form 1, an objection uses Form 2, and Form 3 covers notices given by a person who holds a contact order. Where there is a risk of family violence, section 16.9(3) lets a court waive or modify the notice requirement.

Once the notice is served, section 16.91 allows the move on the stated date if a court has authorized it, or if no one objects within 30 days of receipt and no order prohibits the relocation. The Justice Canada text of the relocation authorization rules in section 16.91 of the Divorce Act sets out what an objection must contain. In litigation, section 16.92 adds relocation factors to the best interests test, including the reasons for the move, its impact on the child, the time each parent spends with the child, any order or agreement limiting the child's geographic area, the reasonableness of the proposal and whether the relocating parent complied with the notice requirement. Section 16.92(2) forbids the court from asking whether the parent would move without the child. Section 16.93 allocates the burden of proof where an order, award or agreement is substantially complied with: the relocating parent carries it if parenting time is substantially equal, the objecting parent carries it if the child spends the vast majority of time with the relocating parent, and both share it otherwise. In Barendregt v. Grebliunas, 2022 SCC 22, the Supreme Court updated the older Gordon v. Goertz framework, confirmed that the reasons for the move matter and stressed the weight of family violence. These federal rules apply within the Divorce Act context, typically where a divorce proceeding is pending or a Divorce Act parenting order exists; other families fall under provincial legislation.

The most common trigger is a job offer or transfer in another city or province, especially in health care or the Canadian Armed Forces. The second is a move back towards family. After a separation, many parents need grandparents nearby for child care, and courts accept that support network as a legitimate reason when the proposal still protects the other parent's time. Housing costs drive the rest: a parent priced out of Vancouver or Toronto who moves to a smaller centre will almost always cross the significant impact threshold. Timing matters as much as the reason. If you rent, your notice to end a residential tenancy should line up with the relocation timeline, and giving up a lease before the 30-day objection window closes can leave you without a home and without permission to move.

Two edge cases surprise people. The obligation is not limited to the parent with primary residence: a parent who exercises every second weekend and plans to move provinces is also relocating and must serve a notice of relocation on the other parent. And where there is a history of family violence, an application under section 16.9(3) to waive or modify notice is often safer than disclosing a new address.

• The identification of the parties and children lists every child affected and every person entitled to notice. Omitting a grandparent with a contact order is a common defect, and it reopens the question of whether proper notice was ever given.
• The expected relocation date anchors the 60-day count, and the template builds in a margin for delivery delays because the notice must actually reach the other parent in time.
• The new address and contact information must be complete. If you are still choosing between two rentals, wait until you have the civic address, since a notice missing information required by section 16.9(2) is open to challenge.
• The proposed parenting schedule sets out regular time, holidays, summer blocks and video calls at the new distance. It follows the structure of a full parenting plan with a geographic mobility clause, so the proposal can later become a consent order without rewriting.
• The decision-making clause addresses school enrolment, health care providers and activities in the new community.
• The travel and cost clause proposes who transports the child and who pays. Section 16.95 allows a court that authorizes a relocation to apportion these costs, so a fair offer at the notice stage often avoids an application.
• The service paragraph records how and when the notice was delivered and reminds the recipient of the 30-day right to object.

Ontario parents involved in a divorce proceeding use the federal regime. Where parenting arrangements rest on an order under the Children's Law Reform Act, sections 39.1 to 39.4 apply instead, with the same 60-day notice and 30-day objection period. Unlike the federal regulation, O. Reg. 155/21 requires the official provincial Notice of Relocation Form and sets the permitted methods of service, with proof by affidavit or written confirmation from the recipient. Section 39.4 reproduces the federal burden of proof rules.

British Columbia regulates relocation by guardians under sections 65 to 71 of the Family Law Act, where an agreement or order on parenting arrangements is in place. Section 66 requires at least 60 days' written notice to every other guardian and person with contact, stating the date and proposed location. An objection is made by court application within 30 days. Under section 69, the relocating guardian must show good faith and reasonable, workable arrangements to preserve the child's relationships, and must also prove best interests where parenting time is substantially equal.

Alberta has no provincial relocation notice regime. The Family Law Act applies the general best interests test, so the federal model is the benchmark for good practice even between unmarried parents. Alberta divorce judgments now include a paragraph on how future notices will be given, and an existing separation agreement drafted to the Divorce Act may already contain a geographic restriction you must respect.

Nova Scotia codified relocation in sections 18E to 18H of the Parenting and Support Act, amended in 2021 to align with the federal reform. Section 18E(2) imposes 60 days' notice, section 18H(1A) allocates the burden of proof, and section 18H(3) bars the "would you move without the child" question.

Quebec is a civil law jurisdiction. The Divorce Act still governs married parents in divorce proceedings, while unmarried parents who disagree on a move bring the dispute before the court under article 604 of the Civil Code of Québec.

You start by selecting your province and confirming which statute governs your family. Parents within a divorce proceeding or under a Divorce Act order follow the federal rules, other parents follow provincial legislation, and the template adjusts its citations accordingly. You then enter each child's name and date of birth, followed by every person who must receive the notice, including anyone holding a contact order. The next screen covers the move itself: the current address, the full new address, the expected date and your reasons. The questionnaire flags any date less than 60 days after your planned delivery.

You then build the parenting proposal, where most of the drafting effort goes. Finally, you download, sign and serve the notice of relocation. Keep proof of delivery a court will accept, such as a signed acknowledgment, courier tracking with signature or an affidavit of service.

The mistake we see most often is the notice by text message. A parent mentions the move in a chat thread, assumes the other parent is on notice and starts counting. A message without the address, date and parenting proposal is not the prescribed notice, and a judge will treat the clock as never having started. The second mistake is counting from the wrong day. The notice must reach the other parent 60 days before the move and the objection period runs from receipt, so a notice mailed before a long weekend can lose several days.

A vague proposal offering "liberal parenting time" with no schedule is the third. The remaining errors happen after service. Some parents move before the 30 days have run, or despite a filed objection, and a move made in breach of the process becomes evidence against you under section 16.92(1)(d). Others forget to check an existing order or agreement for a geographic restriction, which the court must consider. Parents also overlook money. A relocation changes travel costs and can support an undue hardship claim under section 10(2)(b) of the Federal Child Support Guidelines, so your child support agreement under the Federal Child Support Guidelines may need revisiting at the same time.