Start with place, time and jurisdiction
Begin with province or territory, county or district and the historical place name. Civil registration and access rules are provincial, while censuses, immigration, military and many land records are federal. French and English name forms, Indigenous communities and shifting boundaries require careful cultural and jurisdictional context.
Follow the strongest record sequence
Use censuses to place households and trace movement, then consult provincial vital records, parish registers and local archives for births, marriages and deaths. Library and Archives Canada can lead to census, immigration, military, land and naturalisation material. Search in both official languages and allow for phonetic spelling.
Preserve evidence and local context
Cite the census year or collection, province, district and subdistrict, schedule or page, item reference and repository. Keep the original language and community description. Where records concern First Nations, Inuit or Métis people, use community-specific guidance and avoid imposing identities not stated by the source or person.