What is the legal context for surrogacy in Canada, at a high level?
Status as of [date], reviewed by counsel.
This page is for intended parents who live in Canada and are weighing a Canadian altruistic journey against a compensated gestational surrogacy journey in the United States. It explains how a Private Label Surrogacy (PLS) journey works from Canada. It is not legal advice about Canadian law. Every statement here about Canadian federal or provincial law, or citizenship, is a high-level summary, and your Canadian lawyer advises you on your own case.
Canada's Assisted Human Reproduction Act permits only altruistic surrogacy. A surrogate in Canada may be reimbursed for receipted expenses but may not be paid. In a US journey, the surrogate is compensated under US state law; Canadian counsel confirms how that affects you at home.
Before you sign with PLS, meet a Canadian lawyer who handles surrogacy and assisted reproduction. Ask:
- Does anything in Canadian federal or provincial law affect us if we compensate a surrogate in the US?
- Which of us should be the genetic parent, for the child's Canadian citizenship?
- Which US documents will we need for the citizenship certificate and the Canadian passport?
- Will our province require any further parentage step after a US birth?
- If we ship embryos from our Canadian clinic, what paperwork does each clinic need?
- Is there anything the US agreement should say with Canadian law in mind?
Share the answers with Jan Telman Berman, PLS's Global Surrogacy Coordinator.
Why do Canadian parents cross the border?
Two reasons come up most: enforceability and the wait.
The pool of Canadian surrogates is small, because Canadian surrogates may not be compensated. A compensated US journey widens the pool, and the agreement is enforceable. In Illinois, the Gestational Surrogacy Act, in force since 2005, makes a compensated gestational surrogacy agreement enforceable when its requirements are met, and the intended parents' parentage is established before the birth.
The border is also short. Illinois is a short flight from Toronto and Montreal, and PLS works in the Central time zone, so meetings can be scheduled in Central or Eastern hours without anyone working at night. PLS places surrogates in surrogacy-friendly US states; each journey follows the law of the state where the surrogate lives and delivers.
What a PLS journey adds:
- Nurse-led matching. Nancy Block, RN, founded PLS in 2017 after 17 years as an OB/GYN and fertility nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. She has made more than 2,500 matches in her career and runs PLS matching personally.
- Physician review. Mark Silverberg, DDS, MD, reads every surrogate candidate's prenatal and delivery records and writes a physician medical summary for your clinic.
- Surrogates who are partners. Each surrogate has her own attorney, a written compensation package, and at least six nutrition consults with Julie Bendix, MPH, RD.
- Independent escrow. Every dollar for the surrogate and third-party services sits with an independent licensed escrow agent.
How do the two paths compare on cost, wait time and enforceability?
| Canada, altruistic | US, compensated (PLS) | |
|---|---|---|
| Enforceability | Altruistic arrangements under the Assisted Human Reproduction Act; confirm enforceability with Canadian counsel | Enforceable in Illinois when the Gestational Surrogacy Act's requirements are met |
| Surrogate payment rules | Reimbursement of receipted expenses only | Base compensation and benefits set out in the agreement, paid from escrow |
| Typical wait to match | [sourced figure for Canada] | About 9 months from signing today; target 6 months or fewer |
| Whole journey | [sourced figure for Canada] | Typically 18 to 24 months |
| Cost range, USD | [sourced comparison for Canada] | Typically $150,000 to $200,000 |
| Cost range, CAD | [sourced comparison for Canada] | Convert the USD range at your bank's rate on the day |
| Post-birth steps | Provincial birth registration; confirm with Canadian counsel | US birth certificate and passport, then Canadian citizenship certificate by descent and Canadian passport |
The US cost includes the PLS program fee, the surrogate's compensation package, third-party costs of $15,300 to $29,000, and clinic fees. Program fee: confirm current schedule. If the surrogate's own health plan excludes surrogacy, a dedicated policy adds $5,000 to $40,000. The full cost of surrogacy page itemizes each line.
How does Canadian citizenship by descent work for the baby?
After a US birth, parents obtain the US birth certificate and the child's US passport, then apply for the child's Canadian citizenship certificate by descent, and then a Canadian passport. Citizenship by descent depends on a Canadian citizen parent and on current rules about the genetic link.
A federal executive order dated August 6, 2026, on citizenship for children born through compensated surrogacy to two non-citizen parents is under litigation. It may affect whether a child born to two Canadian citizen parents receives a US passport. See citizenship and passport for the current status, and ask your Canadian lawyer which documents to carry at the border.
PLS prepares the US side: the timing of the parentage filing with both US attorneys, a hospital birth plan that names the intended parents, and a document checklist built from your Canadian lawyer's list.
Does provincial parentage law matter after a US birth?
[Summary of whether and how provincial parentage law applies after a US surrogacy birth: to be written and approved by Canadian counsel.]
Parentage is set in two places: the US state where the baby is born, and the province where you live. Ask your Canadian lawyer whether your province recognizes the US parentage determination as it stands, or whether a further step is needed at home. Bring the answer to Jan before the agreement is signed.
How is the journey paid in US dollars from Canada?
You pay in US dollars by wire. Money for the surrogate and for third-party services goes to an independent licensed escrow agent, not to PLS.
- $10,000 into escrow at match.
- The balance before medications start. Nothing medical begins until the agreement is signed and escrow is funded.
- Third-party costs of $15,300 to $29,000, paid from escrow, for both attorneys, escrow administration, the psychological evaluation, background checks, insurance review, surrogate travel and local monitoring.
- The PLS program fee, paid to PLS at signing, surrogate acceptance and medical clearance.
- Clinic and IVF fees, paid to your clinic.
The Canadian-to-US dollar rate is your risk, so many families convert in two or three tranches. You may choose your own escrow company, and the agent sends you a ledger of every disbursement. PLS has used independent escrow since 2017. See currency and escrow.
How does PLS support Canadian families?
Your embryos can stay with your plan. Embryos can be shipped from a Canadian clinic to a US clinic for the surrogate's transfer, subject to FDA donor screening rules when donor gametes were used. Confirm the requirements with both clinics. PLS works with 14 partner fertility centers, including Kindbody, Shady Grove Fertility, Fertility Centers of Illinois and Oregon Reproductive Medicine. See IVF for surrogacy.
One coordinator. Jan Telman Berman, who has managed national and international cycles for more than 18 years, runs your cycle, travel and documents. Nancy runs your match. A case manager, Natalie Gaudio-Fricano or Jenni Symons, carries the pregnancy; both are former surrogates, and Natalie delivered for an international couple in 2016.
A timeline you can plan around. After match, legal and medical foundations take 1 to 2 months, the medical cycle 2 to 3 months, and the pregnancy test comes 9 to 11 days after transfer. Plan on one trip for the birth, and a second if embryos are created at a US clinic. [Typical post-birth stay for Canadian families: confirm with Jan and counsel.]
Sources
- Private Label Surrogacy program terms: escrow funding schedule, timeline and cost ranges.
- Illinois Gestational Surrogacy Act (2005), Illinois General Assembly. Pending review by counsel.
- Assisted Human Reproduction Act (Canada), summarized at a high level. Pending review by Canadian counsel.
- US Food and Drug Administration donor eligibility rules for reproductive tissue. Pending confirmation with the clinic.
- Federal executive order of August 6, 2026, on citizenship for children born through compensated surrogacy. Under litigation; pending review by counsel.