Is there still a deduction for Canadians who get married at the end of
a calendar year as opposed to the beginning of the year?

Hi, Ladyboss:

The website of the Canadian Customs and Revenue Agency says succinctly
that when you reach the "marital status" section of your return,
"Check the box that applied to your status on December 31, 2002."

Legal marriage is not required to qualify for this specific
non-refundable credit (strictly speaking, it's not a deduction).  The
same credit, colloquially referred to as "equivalent-to-married", is
available to common-law partners of the same or opposite sex provided
they meet one or more of the prerequisites listed in the income tax
guide.

This information may be verified by picking up a copy of the most
recent income tax guide from your local CCRA office, or by downloading
it in PDF (Adobe Acrobat) format from the CCRA's website:
http://www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/tax/individuals/t1general/2002/menu-e.html

Select the appropriate province, then click "guide", and on the next
page "General Income Tax and Benefit Guide".  Finally, click on the
large "NEXT" button on the bottom of the resulting page.  That's a lot
of steps, I know, but it is after all a government website (sorry,
couldn't resist).

Happy filing,

-Chromedome