In Canada the legal benefits of marriage are few, and anything you could do in theory you could also do as a common law couple (maybe there are some exceptions, but not many). If you've been living together a couple of years, I believe you qualify.

I like your idea of marriage as a social contract...though I have to admit that my wife and I eloped (it was great fun, mind you). But now that the "community" knows we're married, it pretty much adds up to the same thing.

Some people are dead-set against the idea of marriage because they see it as an autocratic and/or paternalistic institution. I think that's a bit much, but I repsect that people have their opinions. What matters is what you and your boyfriend want, and to find an arrangement that makes you both happy.