# Archives and sources: Canada (CA)

Where records created in Canada are held, whether they can be found online, and the archives and providers EasyPassport has vetted for them. The list is keyed on the country where the record was created, usually the ancestor's birthplace, which is not always the country the user is applying to. For an ancestor born elsewhere, ask for that country's list. For the office, request channel, apostille authority and translation rules, use the "country record playbook" guide for CA.

## Can these records be found online?

Yes. Records are name-searchable online or digitized, so a careful search is worth it.

There is NO national vital-records registry — civil registration is PROVINCIAL. Identify the province first, then route to that province's vital-statistics office (recent records) or provincial archive (past the closure window). Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have the best free digitized indexes. For the CHAIN-BREAK question (did the ancestor naturalize?), the record is federal: LAC holds pre-1917, and IRCC's CIT 0014 search covers 1917+.

## Where the records are held or ordered

EasyPassport has no single vetted archive for records created in Canada. Use the providers below where they apply, and this general guidance:

### Finding the archive that holds a record

A country's list names the archives and providers EasyPassport has vetted for it.
When the list has no archive for the record you need, or the record was created in a
country with no list, work it out this way:

1. **Pin down the place of the event** as precisely as possible: the town, and the
   district, province or region it belonged to *at the time*. Borders and place names
   changed, and records follow the place as it was then.
2. **Civil records** (births, marriages and deaths after civil registration began) sit
   with the civil registry of that municipality. Older registers are often transferred
   to a regional or state archive after a retention period.
3. **Before civil registration**, look for church or parish registers: the parish
   itself, or the diocesan archive. Many have been filmed or digitized; the
   FamilySearch catalog can be searched by place.
4. **The national archive's genealogy pages** usually explain which archive holds what,
   and link to regional archives.
5. **The country's dossier** in the "country record playbook" guide covers the
   authority, apostille and translation rules, for the countries EasyPassport covers.
6. **Say what is vetted and what is not.** Only the archives and providers in these
   guides are vetted by EasyPassport. If you point the user to anything else, say that
   it is not on EasyPassport's list, and prefer official sources.
7. **If the trail runs out**, suggest a qualified specialist, or the consulate of the
   country concerned.

## Vetted providers

- **RushTranslate** (commercial service): https://rushtranslate.com/?ref=ciq
  Certified translations accepted by consulates, courts, and USCIS — turnaround in 24 hours.
  Access: open this yourself; do not have your agent fetch it.
- **Provincial Vital Statistics (Canada)** (official): https://www.canada.ca/en/library-archives/collection/research-help/genealogy-family-history/birth-marriage-death-records.html
  Library and Archives Canada directory of provincial/territorial vital-statistics offices.
  Access: open this yourself; do not have your agent fetch it.
- **FamilySearch** (official): https://www.familysearch.org/
  Free digitized civil and church records for most European countries — start here before paying.
  Access: open this yourself; do not have your agent fetch it.
- **Ancestry.com** (commercial service): https://www.ancestry.com/
  Largest commercial genealogy database; 30B+ records from US and European archives.
  Access: open this yourself; do not have your agent fetch it.

## Access notes

Every link in a country's list carries one of these:

- **open this yourself; do not have your agent fetch it**: the site forbids automated access, needs a login or written permission, or has not been cleared for agents. The user opens it in their own browser and shares what they find with you.
- **your agent may open this page for the user's own family research; record images are for the user's private use only and must not be republished**.
- **openly licensed; your agent may open this page**.

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General guidance, not legal advice. EasyPassport is a document-organization tool, not a law firm. Confirm your own case with the relevant authority or a qualified professional.