Editing Name change (section)

== Canada ==
In Canada, name changes are handled through the vital statistics bureaux of the various provinces and territories, except in [[Nunavut]], where they are handled by the Courts.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ehealthsask.ca/residents/name-changes/Pages/Applying-for-a-Legal-Change-of-Name.aspx |title=Name Changes - Applying for a Legal Change of Name |website=eHealth Saskatchewan}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://vitalstats.gov.mb.ca/change_of_name.html |title=Legal Change of Name |website=Manitoba Vital Statistics Agency |access-date=July 9, 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="etatcivil">{{Cite web |url=http://www.etatcivil.gouv.qc.ca/en/change-name.html |title=Change of name |website=Gouvernement du Québec |access-date=July 9, 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Legal Name Change |url=https://www.gov.nl.ca/snl/birth/legal-name-change/ |access-date=July 9, 2020 |website=Service NL|language=en-CA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Toolkit|first=Web Experience|date=November 12, 2015 |title=Change your Name Legally |url=https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/information/justice-and-public-safety/change-your-name-legally |access-date=July 9, 2020 |website=www.princeedwardisland.ca}}</ref>[[File:Certificate_of_Change_of_Name.jpg|thumb|left|A Certificate of Change of Name issued by British Columbia.]]

All Canadian provinces and territories allow their residents, whether Citizens, Permanent Residents or Temporary Residents, to obtain a name change, provided they fulfil the pertinent regulations (e.g. time lived in province).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://ccla.org/frequently-asked-questions-regarding-change-of-name-for-trans-persons/ |title=Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Change of Name for Trans Persons |date=May 19, 2015 |website=Canadian Civil Liberties Association |language=en-US |access-date=December 5, 2019}}</ref> Quebec, a civil law jurisdiction, has historically had substantial differences from the common law jurisdictions comprising the rest of Canada in how it permits its residents to obtain a change of name—for example, requiring them to be citizens, which was abolished on January 28, 2021, due to a Superior Court of Quebec decision.<ref name="etatcivil"/><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/historic-human-rights-decision-superior-court-affirms-trans-non-binary-rights-in-quebec-1.5287182?cache=ahlalmzxbysj%3Fot%3DAjaxLayout |title='Historic human rights decision': Superior Court affirms trans, non-binary rights in Quebec |first=Andrew |last=Brennan |date=January 28, 2021 |website=[[CTV News]] |access-date=March 24, 2021|language=en}}</ref>

All Canadian provinces except Quebec also recognize common law name changes—i.e. by "general usage"—even if not registered with the government or ordered by a court.<ref name="canada_commonlaw_change">{{blockquote|multiline=yes|source={{cite CanLII|litigants=Lazarchuk (Re)|link=|year=1994|court=bcsc|num=1214|format=canlii|pinpoint=10-11|parallelcite=|date=1994-04-18|courtname=auto}} |text=It is also possible for a person to change their name without complying with the Name Act. The change may be an offence under the Name Act, but that does not render the change ineffective. At "common-law a person could adopt any name in the community, provided that this was not done with any intention to defraud others. One's legal name was the name one was known by, determined merely as a question of common usage within the community". (C.E.D. Western [3rd Edition] Volume 34, pp. 147-47).

A person may have more than one name, or may be known by more than one name, or may change their name without going through a formal process which results in a record of that change. … The Name Act does not appear to require any formal registration of such an election or use.

In addition, there does not appear to be anything which invalidates a change of name by common-law even though that change might be an offence under the Name Act. …}}</ref> Although a common law name change is still a legal name, formal processes may be required to obtain government-issued ID or change the name on accounts (like banks) that [[Know your customer|depend on government ID]]; this is one situation where a person may have more than one name.<ref name="canada_commonlaw_change"/>

Quebec also historically had other strict regulations regarding name changes. For example, the [[transgender]] Quebecker [[Micheline Montreuil]] had to undergo a lengthy process to have her name legally changed. Initially, the Directeur de l'état civil refused to permit the change on the grounds that someone who was legally assigned male at birth could not bear a female name. According to Quebec law, Montreuil could not change her registered gender because that required proof of a completed [[sex reassignment surgery|gender confirmation surgery]], which was not the case for her. On November 1, 1999, the provincial court of appeals ruled that nothing in the law prevented a person who was registered as male from legally adopting a woman's name.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.micheline.ca/page034-batailles-e.htm#dictateur |title=Micheline Anne Hélène Montreuil and her fights |website=Micheline.ca |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212004926/http://www.micheline.ca/page034-batailles-e.htm |archive-date=February 12, 2012}}</ref>

Another issue specific to Quebec is married names. Because of the [[Quebec Charter of Rights]], married women in Quebec have been unable to adopt their spouse's surname since 1976.<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://time.com/3940094/maiden-married-names-countries/ |title=Here Are Places Women Can't Take Their Husband's Name When They Get Married |first=Jacob |last=Koffler |date=June 29, 2015 |magazine=[[TIME]] |access-date=December 5, 2019 |language=en}}</ref> Other provinces allow their residents to change their last name on the strength of their [[marriage certificate]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.alberta.ca/getting-married.aspx |title=Getting Married |website=Government of Alberta|date=May 22, 2024 }}</ref> The Directeur de l'état civil will amend a Quebec birth certificate if a name change certificate is issued by another province. Some have used that loophole to legally change their names by temporarily moving to another Canadian province or territory, which follow more permissive common law rules.

Additionally, Saskatchewan registers changes of name made outside its jurisdiction and issues a "Registration of Change of Name Effected Outside the Province of Saskatchewan".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.canlii.org/en/sk/laws/stat/ss-1995-c-c-6.1/latest/ss-1995-c-c-6.1.html |title=The Change of Name Act, 1995 |website=[[CanLII]] |date=1995 |access-date=July 13, 2021}}</ref>