Resources for Your Genealogy Research in Ontario

Where to Look? How to Find It?

Ontario was a British Colony variously known as Upper Canada, Canada West, and Ontario. It came into Confederation with the British North America Act of 1867 when Canada became a nation.

There are many places to search for answers to your Ontario genealogy questions. If you know what is available, you can make much better use of your time and effort in finding out all you can about your Ontario ancestors in Canada. Here is where to start some of your searching.

We have gathered together lists of those resources we are aware of for the most common resources, and also some of the less common places to look for information about your family. So, help yourself to the information below, and go hunting.

Ontario map

The Archives of Ontario is a major resource in terms of access to key documents for Ontario families. Most of the records housed here are Government of Ontario records or those of the previous governments of the colony. They date from the later 18th century and continue until the present. the records represent all sorts of government actions. From a genealogy point of view, its most popular records are those for vital statistics such as births, marriages, and deaths. But, don't limit yourself to only those or you may miss others referencing your family too. The French link is here

The Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS) makes available both links to other sites containing genealogical data and copies of some original works. It is well worth some time.

There are further genealogy resources available here Global Genealogy - a site described as Canada's history and genealogy store. This is a treasure trove of sources and links about Canadian genealogy researching.

Here is the LDS Wiki page for Ontario genealogy information. Be aware that the Wiki pages for Canadian provinces are still very thin in information.

The Canada GenWeb project has specific provincial projects as part of it. Here is the Ontario GenWeb site

It Helps When You Know Where to Look!