They now pronounce this a ‘striking’ trend

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This article was published 26/12/2024 (289 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

By the power vested in… a startling number of Manitobans, it seems.

As more lovebirds look for alternatives to church and book nontraditional weddings, a growing number of people are seeking government appointments to preside over ceremonies and register marriages.

Between 2013 and 2023, the number of people who became marriage commissioners within a 12-month period surged 127 per cent.

The Government of Manitoba’s Vital Statistics Branch approved 346 permanent applications and 1,135 temporary ones in 2023.

One decade earlier, those figures — obtained by the Free Press via freedom of information request — were only 121 and 531.

“I find that really striking,” said Peter Jon Mitchell, family program director at Cardus, a Canadian think-tank that publishes research on topics including economics, education and marriage, and co-author of I…Do? Why Marriage Still Matters.

“It’s really fascinating that this is increasing at a time when marriage rates are going down.”

Statistics Canada has attributed a steady decline in the crude marriage rate over the last 50 years to an aging population, growing popularity of common-law unions, and an increase in the typical age when people become brides and grooms.

In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, total marriages per capita hit a record low of 2.6 per 1,000 Canadians.

While the number of new officiant appointments in Manitoba was below 1,000 that year, making it an outlier since 2016, it still surpassed annual sums in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

A government spokesperson declined to weigh in on what’s driving the trend because the province does not ask applicants about their motive.

Wedding experts say the ever-growing popularity of nontraditional ceremonies and both the accessibility of obtaining commissioner status and potential income associated with it are all contributing factors.

Manitoba marriage commissioner Colleen Olafson recalled a rigorous and competitive application process when she first put her name in the running for her current designation in 1993.

The retired civil servant, who was stationed at Brandon’s Provincial Court at the time, was interested in what was then a rare opportunity — there were a handful of commissioners in Brandon, now home to more than 150 — and made her case to Vital Statistics.

She used her typewriter to compile a list of hobbies, including curling, volunteering with the Canadian Cancer Society, and her public-speaking practice at Toastmasters International. She also filed three reference letters, two of which were penned by sitting judges.

“It’s really changed a lot in these last 30-plus years,” said Olafson, who has officiated nearly 2,300 ceremonies, and currently conducts up to 130 of them annually in Winnipeg and surrounding communities.

Among the changes, she said lots of new venues have cropped up, sleeved bridal dresses have made a comeback after going out of style in the early aughts, and permanent officiants recently started being charged $100 — although that does not seem to be a deterrent — to renew their appointment for five years.

Commissioners set their own fees, typically one of the lower line items on wedding expense spreadsheets. Olafson’s 2025 rate, which includes consultations with couples of all kinds to execute their vision — be it secular or religious, custom or generic, brief or lengthy — is $400.

“The marriage commissioner really is the only thing people need to get married. They don’t need flowers. They don’t need a venue. They don’t need dresses,” she added.

The average cost of a wedding in Canada is estimated to be around $30,000.

Cardus’s Mitchell said many couples put off marriage because of the growing financial and societal pressures related to hosting an elaborate ceremony and reception, or what he calls “the wedding industrial complex.”

“Simpler weddings would be much better for developing a healthy culture,” the researcher said.

Mitchell noted firm research and other polling suggests marriage is increasingly viewed across Canada as nice, but unnecessary, and one of several options for couples. At the same time, he said Manitoba is home to higher-than-average “marriage measures.”

The number of divorcées per 1,000 married persons in Manitoba was 7.1 per cent from 2016 to 2020, according to the Canadian Vital Statistics divorce database. Nationally, it’s 7.7 per 1,000.

While much has changed during her tenure, Olafson said her goal as a marriage commissioner — being a calm, positive and professional presence for nervous brides and grooms on their big day — remains the same.

The seasoned officiant also offers “gentle guidance” and scans for lint and unstraightened necklaces, and once jumped into action to sew up a ripped seam on a groomsman’s pants.

Government data show 2022 was the busiest year for new officiant applications in 10 years. There were 1,508 appointments, including 221 more temporary ones compared to the average over the last decade.

“COVID catchup” is the reason, Olafson said, adding she had to reschedule one ceremony five times due to changing public health measures during the pandemic.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca