Surrogacy Laws in Canada: What Intended Parents Need to Know (2026)

Is surrogacy legal in Canada?

Yes. Altruistic surrogacy — where a surrogate carries a child without being paid a fee — is legal everywhere in Canada. What's prohibited is commercial surrogacy: paying a surrogate, or paying someone to find you one.

Two types of surrogacy exist:

• Gestational surrogacy: the surrogate carries an embryo created through IVF using an egg that is not her own (from an intended parent or a donor). She has no genetic connection to the baby.
• Traditional surrogacy: the surrogate's own egg is used, so she is genetically related to the child.

Both are legal under federal law, but the large majority of Canadian arrangements are gestational. Most clinics, agencies and lawyers strongly prefer gestational surrogacy because the legal and emotional picture is simpler — and in some provinces, the parentage process is more complicated when the surrogate is also the genetic mother.

What the federal law prohibits and allows

The Assisted Human Reproduction Act (AHRA), passed in 2004, is the federal law that governs surrogacy across Canada. Section 6 makes it a criminal offence to:

• Pay, offer to pay, or advertise payment to a woman to be a surrogate
• Accept or pay a fee for arranging a surrogate's services (this is the rule aimed at brokers)
• Counsel or induce a woman to become a surrogate, or perform a medical procedure to help her become one, knowing — or having reason to believe — that she is under 21

These are serious offences. A conviction can carry a fine of up to $500,000, up to 10 years in prison, or both.

Just as important is what the law allows:

• A woman 21 or older can freely choose to be a surrogate.
• Intended parents can reimburse her documented out-of-pocket expenses related to the surrogacy (more below).
• A surrogate can be reimbursed for lost work-related income during pregnancy if a qualified medical practitioner certifies in writing that continuing to work may pose a risk to her health or to that of the embryo or fetus.
• Everyone involved — lawyers, counsellors, clinics, and agencies charging for their own professional services to intended parents — can be paid for legitimate work. The prohibition is on paying the surrogate a fee or paying someone a fee for the match itself.

One quiet but important practical point: the 21+ rule means Canadian surrogates are, by law, adults who have made a deliberate choice — and reputable agencies and clinics typically also look for women who have already had at least one healthy pregnancy.

What expenses can be reimbursed

Since June 9, 2020, the Reimbursement Related to Assisted Human Reproduction Regulations spell out exactly what intended parents may reimburse. The list for surrogates includes expenditures for:

• Travel (transportation, parking, meals, accommodation)
• Care of dependants or pets
• Counselling services
• Legal services and disbursements
• Drugs and devices, plus health products or services recommended in writing by a licensed health professional
• Midwife or doula services
• Groceries (food items only)
• Maternity clothes
• Telecommunications
• Prenatal exercise classes
• Costs related to the delivery
• Health, disability, travel or life insurance
• Obtaining or confirming medical or other records

The paperwork matters. With limited exceptions (like per-kilometre driving costs at CRA rates), every reimbursement requires a receipt, plus a signed declaration from the surrogate confirming the expense was actually incurred and relates to the surrogacy. Records must be kept for six years. Reimbursing without receipts — or "reimbursing" a round monthly figure untethered to real expenses — risks crossing into illegal payment. A good fertility lawyer will set up a compliant reimbursement process; this is one of the main things you're paying them for.

Parentage: how you become the legal parents

Here's the part many intended parents find surprising: the federal law says nothing about who the legal parents are. Parentage is provincial law, and the process depends on where the baby is born.

The common thread across Canada: sign the agreement before an embryo transfer, make sure the surrogate (and her partner, if she has one) gets independent legal advice paid for by you, and follow the post-birth consent steps precisely.

What surrogacy actually costs in Canada

"The surrogate isn't paid" does not mean surrogacy is inexpensive. Based on figures published by Canadian agencies and consultants (no official statistics exist, so treat these as estimates):

• Surrogate expense reimbursement: roughly $25,000–$45,000 over the full journey, depending on her location, lost wages, and how the pregnancy goes
• IVF and medical costs: roughly $20,000–$40,000+ for embryo creation, screening, medications and transfer — more if you need multiple cycles or donor eggs; less if you already have frozen embryos
• Legal fees: roughly $10,000–$15,000 covering both sides' independent lawyers, the agreement, and post-birth parentage work
• Agency/consulting fees: roughly $20,000–$30,000 if you use one (optional)

All-in, most intended parents should budget somewhere in the range of $60,000–$80,000 if they already have embryos, and $80,000–$130,000+ for a full journey. Some provincial programs can soften the IVF portion — for example, Quebec's public coverage funds IVF for eligible patients — so ask your clinic what applies to you. You can estimate the IVF portion with our fertility cost calculator.

Finding a surrogate and working with agencies

Because no one can be paid to "match" you with a surrogate, Canadian surrogacy works differently than in commercial jurisdictions. Intended parents typically find a surrogate through:

• Someone they know — a friend, relative, or acquaintance who offers
• Surrogacy agencies/consultants — these operate legally by charging intended parents for support services (education, journey coordination, screening logistics, reimbursement administration). They cannot legally take a fee for the act of arranging the surrogate herself, and they cannot pay surrogates. Reputable Canadian agencies are careful about this line.
• Community connections — Canadian surrogacy has an active community of experienced surrogates, many of whom carry for more than one family

Expect the matching process to take time — often 6 to 18 months — because Canadian surrogates volunteer and choose the intended parents they want to work with. Screening (medical and psychological), counselling for everyone, and independent legal advice are standard steps before any embryo transfer. Many surrogacy journeys begin at a fertility clinic that runs a surrogacy program.

International surrogacy, briefly

Some Canadians pursue surrogacy abroad, and some international intended parents come to Canada. Two short notes:

• Babies born abroad to Canadian parents generally acquire Canadian citizenship by descent. Since July 2020, IRCC recognizes a legal parent at birth even without a genetic link, though documentation (birth records, surrogacy agreements, court orders) matters, and DNA evidence can be requested in some cases. Note that Canada's citizenship-by-descent rules changed on December 15, 2025: Bill C-3 removed the old first-generation limit in some situations, replacing it with a substantial-connection test — broadly, a Canadian parent who was themselves born abroad must have spent at least 1,095 days (three years) physically in Canada before the child's birth. If either intended parent was born outside Canada, talk to an immigration lawyer before the journey starts.
• Foreign intended parents using a Canadian surrogate must follow all Canadian rules — the AHRA's prohibitions apply to everything done in Canada, regardless of where the intended parents live — and should get advice in their home country about bringing the baby home and being recognized as parents there.

Cross-border surrogacy adds legal layers on both ends. Budget for specialist advice in every country involved.