Throughout Canada, divorce is governed by the federal Divorce Act. There are three grounds for divorce:
- living separate and apart for a period of at least one year;
- adultery committed by the spouse against whom the divorce order is sought;
- physical or mental cruelty committed by the spouse against whom the divorce order is sought.
In order to obtain a divorce, the applicant must file a Notice of Family Claim in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. There are certain requirements to be met in order to file a claim, for example at least one spouse must have been ordinarily resident in British Columbia for at least one year immediately prior to filing the divorce claim.
In certain circumstances, the making of a divorce order may be postponed until other issues in dispute between the parties have been resolved.