Friend or family member as officiant?

Erin is right about having a court appointed marriage commissioner present and having the marriage legalized even if a friend or family member is performing the actual ceremony. Another option is to go through the legal formalities with the commissioner at a different time and/or place and then have the ceremony however & whenever the couple wishes.

There are, however, no legitimate on-line courses in Canada that allows one to perform a legal marriage ceremony. To become a court appointed marriage commissioner in British Columbia requires an application when there is a vacancy in a specified area of the province. Positions are limited. If there is a spot open and you meet the terms, there is training involved to become licensed. The government website does provide the information & stipulations for applying.

It depends on where you are getting married. This is relatively easy to do in the US, but most places in Canada don't permit this.

So in order for your marriage to be legal, someone who has the legal power to marry you must either marry you or be in attendance and do all the paperwork and the pronouncement. We had our friend as our "officiant" but we had a legally recognized officiant in the crowd and she provided all the paperwork etc to ensure it was all legal and legitimate.

There are online courses that will allow you to become a legally recognized officiant but they usually take a few weekends. There should be some blurb on your province's or city's website in the section about marriage and weddings.