When most people think of contracts, they think of a very formal, written or typed document that both parties sign – bringing two parties together to a binding agreement. In fact, the historical origin of the word “contract” means to bring together (just like when an object shrinks or “contracts”).   

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The law has, of course, expanded well beyond those ancient times. The law has evolved to allow contracts to be formed under a number of circumstances.

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Typically, the conditions of a contract are some sort of “offer” and some sort of “acceptance” and to be binding, there has to be an exchange of things. For example, if I offer to mow my neighbor’s yard and he accepts then we have an arrangement, but it is not a contract because there is no mutual exchange of things. He gets his grass mowed but I get nothing out of it so there is no contract.  However, if there is money involved then it is a contract because there is an exchange of services for money.

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In the modern era, there often is no paper document, nor handshake and exchange of cash in your front yard to mow grass,  but rather electronic communications prevail.    

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In Manitoba, the Electronic Commerce and Information Act now provides that electronic communications can form the basis of a contract, meaning an electronic communication or even by an act such as touching a computer screen, clicking an acceptance or even speaking a verbal acceptance through an electronic device.   As such, a mere email, website or a text can now form a binding contract so one must be cautious when communicating, or by clicking “I Accept” or “I Agree” on your device.   

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Most of these laws apply only to commercial transactions and business dealings, and not personal promises or communications.  A promised Tinder date or marriage proposal would not be a binding contract, for example, nor would a break-up by a text be a broken contract.  

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As with all legal matters, you should consult a legal professional before accepting anything that appears to be some sort of binding contract (but you definitely look elsewhere for dating advice on accepting Tinder request or marriage proposal).