Adoption (Ontario)

Adoption is the legal process that creates a permanent parent–child relationship between a child and an adoptive parent or parents. Once an adoption order is granted, the adoptive parent(s) have full legal parental status, including responsibility for the child’s care, upbringing, and major decisions.

In most cases, adoption also ends the prior legal parent–child relationship between the child and their birth parent(s). Adoption is finalized through the Ontario court process and is intended to be lifelong and legally binding.