Canadian genealogy links and resources
In addition to genealogy resources at Library and Archives Canada (LAC), there are genealogical societies and other archives that hold resources for Canadian family history research. This page lists the major ones. You may have to visit these organizations in person to see records that are not online.
On this page
Genealogical societies
These societies are organized and run by volunteers who share information and resources. Join a society in the area where your ancestors lived, or explore their websites for these types of resources:
- free databases and indexes
- member-only databases
- information about in-person and virtual meetings, seminars and conferences
- publications for sale, such as cemetery indexes
- information about research services
- their library catalogue
- links for different regions and special interest groups
- links to other local resources
There are genealogical societies in every province. These are the larger ones, but there are many more. Use an Internet search to find societies in different cities, counties and regions.
In the three territories, there may be local societies in some communities.
Alberta
British Columbia
British Columbia Genealogical Society
Manitoba
New Brunswick
New Brunswick Genealogical Society
Newfoundland and Labrador
Family History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador
Nova Scotia
Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia
Ontario
Ontario Ancestors: The Ontario Genealogical Society
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island Genealogical Society
Quebec
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan Genealogical Society
Provincial and territorial archives
Each province and territory has its own archives, and may have these types of records and resources:
- civil registration and church records (birth, marriage and death records)
- divorce, education, court and land records
- municipal and county records
- wills and estate records
- maps, newspapers and photographs
- genealogy indexes and databases
- guides to specialized holdings
- digital collections
Alberta
Provincial Archives of Alberta
British Columbia
BC Archives
Manitoba
Archives of Manitoba
New Brunswick
Provincial Archives of New Brunswick
Newfoundland and Labrador
The Rooms
Northwest Territories
NWT Archives
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia Archives
Nunavut
Nunavut Archives Program
Ontario
Archives of Ontario
Prince Edward Island
Memory PEI
Quebec
Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
Saskatchewan
Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan
Yukon
Yukon Archives
Religious archives
Many synagogues and Christian parishes transfer their older records relating to births, marriages and deaths to their regional archives. These are examples of larger religious archives.
Anglican (Church of England)
Archives in the Anglican Church of Canada
Baptist
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Evangelical
Evangelical Christian Church in Canada (Christian Disciples)
Jewish
Lutheran
Mennonite
Methodists
See United Church of Canada
Presbyterian
Presbyterian Church in Canada: Archives
See United Church of Canada
Quakers
Canadian Quaker Archives
Roman Catholic
Most dioceses have their own archives. Search the internet for "Catholic diocese archives" and the city or province. Some are listed in ARCHIVESCANADA.ca.
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army Canada & Bermuda Archives
United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada Archives Circle
These archives may have records useful for genealogy research or they may know where such records are held:
Other archives in Canada
These archives, which are not specific to one region, hold many records useful for research because they provide information about individuals.
There are also many municipal, county, regional and specialized archives. You can search for them on the archival portal ARCHIVESCANADA.ca. Try searching by subject or place. The database also includes the descriptions of archival holdings of hundreds of Canadian archives.
Related links
These websites include a wide range of genealogy resources and links.
- Ancestry Ancestry is one of LAC’s partners. Many LAC and other Canadian archival collections can be searched in this subscription website, which is free at LAC and most public libraries.
- Canada GenWeb: find links by province, territory and subject.
- Canadiana: search digitized historical publications and newspapers.
- FamilySearch FamilySearch is one of LACs partners. Many LAC and other Canadian archival collections can be searched in this free website, as well as digitized books, family trees and information wikis.
- Généalogie francophone en Amérique : Répertoire de ressources en ligne (French only): find links for French-Canadian genealogy.
- Héritage: search digitized archival microfilm held by LAC.