Throuple Adopted a 3-Year-Old Daughter and Want to All Be Legally Recognized as Her Parents: ‘Three Times the Love’

Jonathan Bedard, Éric LeBlanc, and Justin Maheu share both a home and a relationship in Montreal, describing themselves as a triad — or throuple. Last month, they achieved a long-awaited dream: adopting their 3-year-old daughter.

The process took seven years, and while their family is now complete, their journey for recognition continues. The trio hopes to see the legal definition of family expanded in their province.

“We’re not objective, but she’s a dream,” says LeBlanc, 33, an author, speaking about their daughter, whose name remains private. “We can’t wait to see how she grows.”

Their case has drawn attention across Canada because, in Quebec, only two people can be legally recognized as a child’s parents. Other provinces — including British Columbia and Ontario — already allow multi-parent families to have full legal status.

Maheu, Bedard, and LeBlanc want to see that change in Quebec. Earlier this year, a judge ruled that the province’s civil code was unconstitutional, giving the government one year to amend it, according to CTV News. Quebec’s Ministry of Justice has appealed the ruling.

The three men remain hopeful that the law will evolve so that LeBlanc — currently the only partner not legally recognized — can soon be listed as their daughter’s third parent. By sharing the daily realities of their family, they hope to inspire acceptance and broaden perceptions of what family can mean.

“We just want what any parents want — to make sure our child is safe, happy, and loved,” LeBlanc says. “Our main goal was to raise awareness around our situation and multiple parenting in general.”

Building a Relationship and a Family

Maheu, 40, a management consultant, and Bedard, 44, a music teacher, first met in college two decades ago. About ten years later, Bedard met LeBlanc and introduced him to Maheu. Having all experienced non-monogamous relationships before, they quickly realized they wanted something deeper together.

“As we got to know each other, we understood we wanted something more than just friendship,” LeBlanc says. For Maheu and Bedard, deciding to form a triad meant “evaluating if it was something we both wanted,” while LeBlanc had already known he wanted a polyamorous relationship. “It was a natural extension of what we were already building,” he adds.

At first, the relationship was long-distance — LeBlanc lived three hours away — but they committed to equal footing for everyone involved. “We rapidly established that the relationship would be equal … everybody on the same level,” they explain. “It just felt right for all three of us.”

Having already navigated the coming-out process as gay men, they say they were open to creating new relationship models that fit their lives better than traditional ones.

Overcoming Legal Barriers

When it came time to adopt, only Maheu and Bedard could be legally recognized. By the time LeBlanc joined their lives, the other two had already begun the adoption process, so it was simpler to proceed through that path.

Still, the process wasn’t smooth. In 2022, the Integrated University Health and Social Services Center of South-Central Montreal — part of Quebec’s Directorate of Youth Protection (DPJ) — halted their application after the trio disclosed that they intended to parent as a throuple.

They challenged that decision, arguing that Quebec law doesn’t explicitly forbid children from having more than two parents. Their attorney, Laura Cardenas, says the rejection was eventually overturned. The DPJ then directed them to another agency for a psychosocial evaluation, one of the final steps before approval.

“They asked a lot of questions about us and our love and work,” Maheu recalls. “It was a very thorough process,” adds LeBlanc. After the evaluation found their home to be a “safe environment,” the trio began fostering their daughter in November 2023 — and officially adopted her in September 2025.

A Push for Broader Recognition

Their lawyer notes that while the trio wasn’t part of the Quebec court case challenging the two-parent rule, the issue is the same: the current system leaves unrecognized parents vulnerable. “These children deserve to have those relationships recognized and protected — for the child’s own well-being,” Cardenas explains. When only two parents are recognized, others have limited rights in medical, educational, or custody matters.

A spokesperson for Quebec’s Ministry of Justice said they could not comment while the case is before the courts. The adoption agency involved also declined to comment, citing confidentiality, but stated that “the best interests of children guide the entire process.”

Love and Stability Above All

Since their story went public, the trio has received both encouragement and backlash — including homophobic messages. Maheu says he understands that some people find multi-parent families unusual, but believes that “having three fathers isn’t so different from blended families with stepparents.”

“Multi-parenting gives more financial and emotional support,” he says. “It’s been 20 years since I’ve been with Justin, and nearly 10 with Eric. We’re really stable.”

In their home, all three share parenting duties equally. “Even though I’m not a recognized parent, on a day-to-day basis, I don’t feel any difference,” says LeBlanc. Their daughter, adds Bedard, “doesn’t see a difference either.”

Although they prefer the term triad to throuple, the family has embraced their label — and the love that defines it. “There’s three times the love, three times the income, three times everything,” LeBlanc says. “This is a story made out of love. Like any other parents, our daughter always comes first — she’s the most important part of everything we do.”