The Applicant Father sought an order for the immediate return of the five-year-old child to Brazil under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, alleging wrongful retention by the Respondent Mother in Canada.
The child, a dual Canadian and Brazilian citizen, had lived primarily in Brazil but had been residing and attending school in Canada since September 2023.
The court dismissed the Hague Application, finding that the child was habitually resident in Canada immediately prior to the alleged abduction.
The decision emphasized a child-focused approach to determining habitual residence, consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and rejected the Father's claim that the parents intended to return to Brazil permanently.
