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1. INTRODUCTION
Spousal support claims by men represent a small, but steadily increasing, number of total spousal support claims.2 Gender-neutral entitlement to spousal support was introduced in the Divorce Act of 1968;3 before then, only women could claim what was then called alimony.4 Today, approximately 3% of reported spousal support decisions involve claims by men.5 Changes to family income patterns suggest that spousal support for men (SSFM) claims will continue to increase: women's proportion of earned family income is rising,6 and there are more female primary household earners ("breadwinners") than ever before,7 especially among younger couples.8 Yet we know little about SSFM claims or how they are adjudicated. There have been claims of gender bias in SSFM cases,9 and it has been suggested that men receive fewer awards, smaller awards, and shorter awards than women.10 More fundamentally, it is not clear how SSFM cases fit within a legal framework that has developed around predominantly female claimants.
This article reports on the first comprehensive study of SSFM in Canada.11 The study analyzed 363 reported decisions involving spousal support claims by men from 2010 to 2020.12 The study found that men were awarded support in just under 50% of cases. Most of these awards were non-compensatory; while men often claimed compensatory support, judges frequently rejected these claims. The study also highlights how SSFM may involve competing support principles within cases; for example, men often claimed needs-based support alongside evidence of compensatory entitlement for women, although women rarely brought competing claims.13 Finally, the study revealed that it was not uncommon for men accused of intimate partner violence (IPV) to claim spousal support, and that some courts awarded support to these men. Ultimately, the study raises questions about the role gender plays in SSFM adjudication and the relationship between spousal support and gender equality.
2. THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK
Spousal support law is a combination of statutes, cases interpreting these statutes, and cases applying the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (SSAGs). Section 15.2(4) of the Divorce Act14 sets out the factors courts should consider in making a spousal support award:
In making a [spousal support] order. . .. the court shall take into consideration the condition, means, needs and other circumstances of each spouse, including
(a) the length of time the...