Limited divorces are not granted in this State.
CHAPTER XXVI.
Dominion of Canada and Newfoundland.
The Dominion of Canada now consists of the Provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Saskatchewan, together with certain territories not as yet included in any Province.
The Canadian Constitution, similar in principle to that of Great Britain, is embodied in the British North America Act of 1867 (30 Vict. c. 3).
This act, which was passed by the Imperial Parliament, created the federation now styled the Dominion of Canada, and assigned to the Dominion Parliament power “to make laws for the peace, order and good government of Canada, in relation to all matters not coming within the classes of subjects by this act assigned exclusively to the Legislatures of the Provinces.”
One great distinction between the Canadian Constitution and the Constitution of the United States of America is that powers not specifically granted to the Provinces are reserved to the Dominion Government, whereas under the American Constitution powers not specifically granted to the Federal Government are reserved to the States, or to the people.
Marriage and divorce are specifically set forth in the Canadian Constitution as a branch of legislation exclusively within the control of the Dominion Parliament, but although forty-three years have passed since the act became operative the Dominion Parliament has so far enacted only two statutes concerning the subject. The first act (May 17, 1882) legalized the marriage of a man with his deceased wife’s sister, and the second (May 16, 1890) legalized the marriage of a man with his deceased wife’s sister’s daughter.