Imagine you’re in an Ottawa hotel suite with a former prime minister of Canada and a former president of the United States. Secret Service members watch the door and a photographer is getting ready to take some shots. Imagine that. But then imagine the door opens and in walks Aline Chretien, looking as beautiful and elegant…
The combination of Isabel de Clare’s inherited wealth and William Marshal’s earned status made for a fortuitous pairing
The teenage Isabel de Clare was a desirable prize in the late 12th century marriage market. As the heiress to substantial lands in Ireland, Wales, England and Normandy, she had much to offer. Both sides of her pedigree contributed to this inheritance. Isabel’s father was Richard de Clare, popularly known as Strongbow. He came from…
Headlines warn that Canadian family courts will be overwhelmed with couples seeking post-COVID-19 divorces. But Canadian marriages won’t just survive the COVID-19 crisis. They’ll thrive. Here’s why: Most couples will lean into their relationships, not pull back. The lockdown has caused significant stress on families around finances, educating children and caring for family members while…
Besides creating an economic crisis, COVID-19 is bringing conflict into some homes. Rate (and improve) your relationship
Not all of us are living happily ever after. Are you surprised? I didn’t think so! If absence makes the heart grow fonder, the opposite might also be true about too much time spent together in close quarters. A former colleague recently told me that call volumes for domestic disputes are on the rise. This…
Resentment over wrongs, disagreements over the kids and financial worries can be breeding grounds for some of the worst adult behaviour
They loved each other so much. Everyone thought they were a perfect couple. Of all the couples in their circle, they definitely had the advantage, communicating so well with each other. That’s what we all thought – until they got divorced! When that perfect couple is at an impasse, why start fighting like children? Communication…
There are sharp differences in family life satisfaction and perceived relationship stability between married and cohabiting parents
As surely as spring arrives this month, wedding season won’t be far behind. But the peal of wedding bells signifies more than just the formalization of a relationship, according to new data from the Global Family and Gender Survey (GFGS). Statistics Canada numbers also shed light on the issue. In short, there are sharp differences in…
As studies show that we're delaying or choosing not to get married, we need to recognize the overwhelming value of marriage
Dating apps abound – and the new Facebook Dating is getting into the game in Canada – but all the technology in the world hasn’t changed a significant social trend: Young adults are the forefront of dwindling and delayed marriage in Canada. Even increasing common-law relationships haven’t picked up the slack. Young Canadian adults are…
Marriage understands shared existence, including the economic, spiritual, social and sexual aspects of our lives
With the Ontario government’s public consultations on a new sex-ed curriculum well underway, we should recognize that both the old and new versions of the document suffer from the same fatal flaw. Neither makes any effort to educate about marriage – in fact, the word is never mentioned – as a significant social institution. The…
Although separation and divorce are always painful, it may be the best option for some couples and their families
In the unstable world of mental illness, it is not surprising that existing marital problems can complicate things further, or that new marital tensions can be created. Many of my patients who come to me with anxiety or depression also have significant problems in their marriages. Whether they recognize it or not, these difficulties are…
From health to wealth, from personal happiness to better outcomes for children, the benefits of traditional relationships are many
By Andrea Mrozek and Peter Jon Mitchell Cardus Canadian supporters of marriage are speaking up – and not a moment too soon. In a recent Angus Reid Institute survey, about 56 per cent of Canadians said, “marriage is simply not necessary” to form a lifelong relationship. Almost the same proportion (57 per cent) went on…