Same-sex Marriage in Canada and the United States: The Role of Political and Legal Culture

The US and Canada have taken significantly different paths to the legalization of samesex marriage. Canada legalized it in 2005, while the US, despite progress, has yet to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide. Recently, scholars have emphasized the primary role played by institutions in explaining policy differences between Canada and the US. This approach rejects political culture as an explanatory variable. Using the issue of same-sex marriage, this article demonstrates how political and legal culture, along with institutions, best explains policy divergence between the two countries.