Same-sex marriage has been legal in Alberta since July 20, 2005 upon the granting of royal assent to the federal Civil Marriage Act. Alberta was one of the four Canadian provinces and territories where same-sex marriage had not been legalised before the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act, along with Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Adult interdependent relationship
Since 2003, same-sex couples have had access to adult interdependent relationships, providing some of the rights and benefits of marriage. This includes alimony, health care benefits, inheritance, domestic violence protection, etc.
Civil Marriage Act
On June 28, 2005, the House of Commons of Canada passed the Civil Marriage Act, an act which defines Canadian civil marriage as a union between "two persons". The bill received royal assent by Deputy Governor General Beverley McLachlin a few weeks later and went into effect on July 20, 2005. Premier Ralph Klein responded by saying that the Alberta Government might opt to stop solemnizing marriages entirely, suggesting that in its place, the government would issue civil union licences to both opposite-sex and same-sex couples. Religious groups could still solemnize opposite-sex unions as marriages if they chose, but any civil ceremony would be permitted to recognize only a civil union. The Alberta Government also considered continuing to issue marriage licences to opposite-sex couples only in court, on the grounds that the federal government's legislation encroached on the provincial government's jurisdiction over the solemnization of marriage. In December 2004, Klein had suggested conducting a nationwide referendum on the legalisation of same-sex marriage, but this was opposed by Prime Minister Paul Martin, saying that "that this is an issue that Parliamentarians ought to decide". Klein stated "In this province, my feeling is the majority -- and I don't know what the percentage of the majority is -- but the majority of people are opposed to same-sex marriage. And I represent the people of this province."
On July 12, 2005, Klein conceded that the advice given to him by legal experts was that a challenge in court to refuse to marry same-sex couples had no chance, and wasting taxpayers' money to fight it would be "giving false hope." Klein said, "much to our chagrin", the Alberta Government would issue marriage licences to same-sex couples when the bill received royal assent. Klein also said that the Alberta Government would enact provincial legislation to protect religious and civil officials who do not wish to perform a same-sex marriage. This would have meant that an Alberta marriage commissioner who refused to solemnize same-sex marriages would not be liable for dismissal on those grounds. However, no such legislation was passed, indicative of the "sea change" in attitudes towards same-sex marriage in Alberta. This mirrored similar developments in the neighbouring province of Saskatchewan where courts have twice struck down attempts to exempt marriage commissioners from performing same-sex weddings.
The first same-sex couple to receive a marriage licence in Alberta were Keenan Carley and Robert Bradford in Edmonton just hours after the Act received royal assent on July 20. The couple had to wait until provincial officials instructed all registry offices to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, and the licence forms were changed from stating "Bride" and "Groom" to "Partner 1" and "Partner 2". The couple said, "It's wonderful feeling to know that it can finally be official. [...] It means that when we do have that ceremony, it will be legal, that we will be recognized as a married couple by the province of Alberta and the government of Canada. And that's a great thing."