Family events are key elements of genealogy and family history research. An individual's life is composed of events that occurred at different times such as birth, marriage and death.
From early times to the present, baptisms, marriages and burials have been recorded in Church Records and Indexes . In the late 1800s and early 1900s, provincial and territorial governments introduced the civil registration of births, marriages and deaths.
In order to ensure the accuracy of information, it is important to trace the records relating those events and, if possible, to obtain copies of these records.
As civil registration (birth, marriage and death records) is not a federal jurisdiction, Library and Archives Canada does not hold the civil registers and does not issue certificates. Read more about how to obtain copies of certificates from the provinces and the territories under Genealogy and Family History: Places.
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