| September 16, 2004, when Manitoba became the fifth jurisdiction in Canada to legalize same-sex marriage, after the provinces of Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec, and Yukon Territory.
On September 16, 2004, Justice Douglas Yard of the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench declared that the current definition of marriage was unconstitutional. The judge said that his decision had been influenced by the previous decisions in B.C., Ontario and Quebec. This decision followed the suits brought by three couples in Manitoba requesting that they be issued marriage licences. Both the provincial and federal governments had made it known that they would not oppose the court bid. One of the couples, Chris Vogel and Richard North, had legally sought marriage in a high-profile case in 1974 but had been denied. The other couples were Stefphany Cholakis and Michelle Ritchot,, and Laura Fouhse and Jordan Cantwell.
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