About 900 LGBT couples tied knot since same-sex marriage legalized in Manitoba

Twelve years ago this Friday, Manitoba became the fifth province or territory in the country to legalize same-sex marriage. Since that2004 landmark decision by the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench, there have been on average 79 same-sex marriages in the province annually, figures released by the Vital Statistics office show.

• Manitoba recognizes same-sex marriages

Karen Busby, law professor at the University of Manitoba and director of the Centre of Human Rights Research, was intimately involved in the court battles in the early 2000s that ultimately paved the way for equal marriage rights.

"If you'd asked me 20 years agowhether or not gay marriage would happen in my lifetime, I would have said 'no,'" said Busby.

After joining Egale Canada a group that fights for equal rights for gay and lesbian citizens Busby saidthe group anticipated decades of drawn-out court battles.

"But actually the success came relatively quickly because we won at court of appeallevels and it turned around much faster thanI had expected," Busbyrecalled.

"Early challenges were made in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec,and when those challenges were successful, the federal government realized the writing was on the wall and it stopped challenging the cases in court."

From this juncture, it took the federal government close to another year under then-prime minister Paul Martin to introduce the Civil Marriage Act on July 20, 2005, to legalize same-sex marriage. Canada became the fourth country in the world and the first outside of Europe to redefine its marriage laws in such a way.

'Pent-up demand'for marriage

Busby saidthat when Ontario became the first jurisdiction in the country to legalize same-sex marriage, months before the legal floodgates burst open in other provinces, many gay and lesbian Manitobans drove out to Kenora, Ont., to get legally hitched.

"Then we saw kind of a rush of marriages shortly after it happened,kind of [from] a pent-up demand,and since then there's been a steady stream of people getting married," Busby said.

Records maintained byManitoba's Vital Statistics office shows thatclose to 900 same-sex marriages have occurred since legalization. The peak year was in 2014with 107 same-sex marriageslevels not seen since the early years following changes to the law.

Put in a broader perspective:there are on average 79 same-sex marriages per year, while there areon average just over 5,600 marriages overall in Manitoba.

In addition, the figures show that there have been nearly twice as many lesbian same-sex marriages in Manitoba as gay same-sex marriages.

Younger LGBT generations

Amanda Kinden, 35, owner of Oh Doughnuts in Winnipeg, has been married for nearly two years to her spouse, Noreen Mian.

Kinden saidthat while she has never taken for granted the history of discrimination and hard-fought battles of the past, the victory over same-sex marriage took on greater significance over time.

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"Honestly, as a younger person who didn't have a drive to get married, it wasn't really important to me then, but I'm very happy that I have that option now," Kindensaid.

Kinden saidthat althoughshe still encounters glimpses of homophobia, she feels that emerging issues transgenderpeople face constitute the next important hurdle for Canadian society.

Busby said that beyond simply achieving equal legal rights in Canada, same-sex marriage laws helped normalize gay and lesbian relationships in society in general.

"For many LGBT people, the experience, the discrimination they face [today] is really on the margins, rather than at the centre of our lives," Busby said.

• Former Manitoba marriage commissioner fights requirement to perform same-sex ceremonies

"For manyLGBTpeople, the experience, the discrimination they face [today] is really on the margins, rather than at the centre of our lives," Busby said.

CBC ARCHIVES 2004: An historic day in Manitoba. Gay and Lesbian couples can now legally get married

8 years ago

Duration 2:12

The Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench has ruled the definition of marriage is unconstitutional. Manitoba is one of 4 provinces that have made that ruling. And pressuring is mounting on others to do the same.