The letters from family and friends don't need to be notarized; having them notarized is just an expensive thing that isn't necessaryWe’re also a July 2019 same-sex couple. We submitted 2018-2019 lease agreement, CRA returns, driver license and Ontario ID cards for both PA and sponsor, tenant insurance, credit card statements, and police certificate showing home address for the PA. We also signed the common law affidavit form. We included letters from friends and family testifying that we have been living together for a year, but these were not notarized so maybe they didn’t do much.
I hope that helps!