Historical Background
As the land which came to be known as Canada was settled and the population grew, each province was really an independent colony of the British or French crown. As late as 1867 (when Canada was formed through Confederation of 4 independent colonies), there was considerable resistance to a powerful central government in Canada. Whatever could be handled by local or provincial governments were, for the most part, handled in that manner.

As in many of the states in its neighbor to the south, Canadians recorded marriages earlier than they did births and deaths. Many of those records were kept by the town or county clerks and were recorded by that level of government. So the earliest records of marriage are found in the county courthouses.

Eventually, the provincial governments recognized the importance of recording the vital events of their population and began recording births, marriages and deaths.

Record Availability
When are records available for each province? The following table summarizes the status of vital registration in the provinces of Canada.