109 marriages registered in the NWT last year, GNWT says

There were 109 registered marriages in the territory last year, according to the Department of Health and Social Services.

"These are only the marriages that were registered. There may be additional marriages that have occurred in 2024 but are not registered yet," a spokesperson from the department told NNSL Media on Feb. 13.

Most of those marriages — 63 per cent to be exact — took place in Yellowknife.

What does it take to get married in the NWT? A person has to be at least 16 years old. If someone is less than 19 years old, they need written consent from their parents or legal guardians to marry.

Both parties must consent to getting married. "You cannot be forced into a marriage," the GNWT's website states.

Both people must be physically present to be married, and neither party can be currently married to someone else already. Anyone previously married must have proof of divorce, according to the territorial government.

How to get married

First is finding someone who is willing to marry you.

Next, according to the GNWT, there are two important steps to take before sealing the deal.

One is to make sure you are legally allowed to marry. Next, get a marriage licence. Or, a couple can have a clergy member — someone authorized by the Marriage Act to marry people — conduct a publication of the banns, a form of announcement, for two consecutive weeks.

"Banns are published when a member of the clergy names the two people who plan to get married during a regular worship service," the territory explains on its website.

Post-marriage

After getting married, a couple more things have to happen.

"The person who officiated the ceremony will send the completed marriage registration form to the department's Health Service Administrative Unit in Inuvik," the GNWT states. "After the marriage registration form has been received by the department, you may apply for a marriage certificate."

If anyone wants to change their surname to their spouse's, or to hyphenate their current surname, then they'll need that certificate.

A marriage certificate is also required for changing names on things like credit cards, driver's licence, bank documents and more.

As of 2021, 35 per cent of the NWT population aged 15 and older were married. About 19 per cent are living common law, according to Statistics Canada.

The NWT registered just 75 marriages in 2020. The year prior saw 120 registered marriages, also according to Statistics Canada.