Canadian Surrogacy and Donor-Conception Outcomes: Toronto Guide

What the evidence can tell Toronto families

For someone planning treatment in Toronto, the useful question is not simply “What is the success rate?” Ask what outcome is being counted, whose experience the number describes and where your own proposed treatment fits. A percentage cannot answer all three questions on its own.

Use this review to prepare two conversations: one with the fertility clinic about medical outcomes, and another with counsel about agreements, consent and parentage. Keeping those questions distinct makes the next steps clearer.

Reported Canadian live-birth rates

CARTR Plus reports the following Canadian results for 2013–2023. The outcome is at least one live birth; the denominator is embryo transfers.

Donor-egg figures exclude gestational carriers; carrier figures include own and donor eggs. PGT-A is embryo testing for chromosome-number differences. Ambiguous PGT-A results were excluded.

The carrier-outcome table records unknown outcomes for 16.0%–22.5% of ongoing pregnancies. These are the report’s published figures; incomplete follow-up limits interpretation. They are descriptive groups, not treatment rankings.

Source: CARTR Plus/BORN Ontario 2025 report, pages 58, 62–63.

Read the percentage before comparing the provider

The Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society’s guidance on clinic statistics explains why results from different clinics cannot establish which provider is better: patient populations and other factors differ. A personal estimate needs a consultation with a fertility professional. The CFAS seal concerns presentation standards, not an independent audit of a clinic’s data.

When requesting a clinic’s explanation, write down:

• The outcome: a positive pregnancy test, a pregnancy confirmed on ultrasound, or a live birth.
• The starting point: a treatment cycle, an egg retrieval, an embryo transfer, or several attempts over a stated period.
• The relevant group: egg source and age, use of a carrier, testing, and any exclusions.
• The follow-up: how long outcomes were tracked and how missing results were handled.

Ask for the actual counts alongside the percentage and for an explanation of which group resembles your circumstances. Do not treat a difference between the table’s tested and untested groups as proof that testing caused the difference.

Donor sperm and IUI need a separate question

Donor-egg IVF figures do not describe donor-sperm intrauterine insemination (IUI). One peer-reviewed Montreal study by Frank and colleagues examined stimulated IUI in women aged 38–43 during 2009–2018. Its donor-sperm group recorded 14 clinical pregnancies in 175 cycles: 8.0% per cycle.

That is a clinical-pregnancy measure from a small, retrospective, age-restricted sample. It is not a live-birth rate, a Toronto estimate or a prediction for younger patients. We include it to show why a donor-conception percentage must identify the treatment and population. Ask your clinic for the outcome relevant to your own proposed pathway.

Ontario legal planning follows its own timeline

For the Ontario statutory surrogacy pathway involving up to four intended parents, the Children’s Law Reform Act, section 10, requires a written agreement before conception and independent legal advice for the surrogate and intended parent or parents before signing. Conception must be through assisted reproduction. The surrogate’s written consent relinquishing parentage cannot be given before the child is seven days old.

A surrogacy agreement is unenforceable in law, though it can evidence the parties’ intentions. Signing is therefore not a guarantee of parentage. ServiceOntario’s birth-registration instructions describe related declarations and consent requirements. Ask counsel which route and documents apply to the proposed arrangement, including any cross-border element.

Federal rules also matter. The Assisted Human Reproduction Act prohibits paying someone to act as a surrogate and buying sperm or eggs from a donor or someone acting on the donor’s behalf. It also requires written consent for specified uses of reproductive material and embryos. Eligible reimbursement is a separate issue. Health Canada’s reimbursement guidance explains the documentation framework; do not assume every proposed payment qualifies.

Planning with a fertility lawyer in Toronto

Once the family-building proposal is clear, a legal consultation can address the parties, agreements, consent steps and parentage process. Licata Law’s fertility and surrogacy legal services in Toronto describe support for intended parents, donors and surrogates. Its family-law practice also lists donor and parental-rights agreements and embryo-donation guidance.

Prepare a short brief for that conversation:

• Who would provide the egg or sperm, who would carry the pregnancy, and who intends to parent?
• Which clinic and jurisdiction are involved, and what dates are being discussed?
• What agreements or consent documents have been proposed, and has anything been signed?
• Who needs independent advice, and how will reimbursement records and birth-registration documents be organised?

Ask the firm to confirm the proposed work, fees and timing before treating any step as settled. Legal preparation addresses the arrangement and its documentation; it does not establish a clinical success rate. For a broader first-meeting checklist, see our family-law consultation questions.

Research method and limits

Toronto Reviewer reviewed public registry reporting, an original peer-reviewed study, official federal and Ontario material, and the client’s published service descriptions on 16 September 2026. This is a focused editorial evidence review, not a systematic review or new patient-level analysis.

We retained each source’s outcome, denominator, period and geography. We did not pool incompatible treatments, calculate a combined Toronto rate, rank clinics, or attribute medical outcomes to legal representation. Client pages support descriptions of legal services; government sources support the legal discussion. New local data or changed requirements may warrant a future update.