Searching in Canada Resources

“In all of us there is a hunger, marrow-deep, to know our heritage — to know who we are and where we came from. Without this enriching knowledge there is a hollow yearning. No matter what our attainments in life, there is still a vacuum, an emptiness, and the most disquieting loneliness.” – Alex Haley, the author of Roots

This page contains some basic information and resources for adoption-reunion searches in Canada.

Searching in Canada is hindered by the policies which keep adoption records closed against access by the parents anad adoptees that they pertain to. Imagine not being allowed to access your own birth certificate! Or to not be able to search for and find the beloved child you lost to adoption, not knowing if they are now alive or dead. Other than in a few provinces, that is the situation for many people separated by adoption in Canada.

REGISTRIES – Provincial Governments

Some provincial governments have specific registries that a person can register with. Some of these registries can take years before they make a “match” even if both parties have registered. Others will perform active searches on a disciminatory basis, e.g. for adoptees only but not for natural parents, siblings or grandparents.

REGISTRIES – Other

Many nonprofit groups also have registries as a volunteer service. Registering with them should be a priority for searchers. These are the main registries:

These are all nonprofit volunteer organizations. If you find your family through one of them, please consider donating to the organization to help it stay active and helping reunite other separated families.

SEARCH ANGELS

There are many volunteer searchers across Canada, both independent and belonging to volunteer organizations such as Origins Canada and Parent Finders. If you wish to contact a search-angel, join these organizations and it’s possible that someone can help you.

OPEN RECORDS

If you are lucky enough to live in British Columbia, Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, or Ontario (starting in June 2009) and if no-one has filed a disclosure veto against you, you may be able to access the identifying information for your lost loved ones. This is known as a province having “open records.”

Canada is the last Commonwealth nation with closed records. Most other countries, and the United Nations, consider it to be a basic human right. There are active open records movements lobbying the provincial governments of most province where records remain closed.

The myth about sealed adoption records is that they were closed to protect “birthparent privacy.” This is incorrect, especially as records do not close when the mother signs surrender (”relinquishment”) papers, they close when the court order for the adoption is approved by the judge. This can be weeks, months, or even years later. Records closed mainly to “protect” the adoptive family from the natural mother finding her child again.

  1. The third step, once you have a name is to check City Directories (located in public libraries) and online telephone directories for their names. Some useful online directories are: Infospace, Canada411, and Superpages.ca
  2. You may also wish to type their name or other relevant information into search engines such as Google. Newspaper articles, obituaries, public notices, genealogy pages – any of these might come up in the search results.
  3. If you are an adoptee, your natural parent’s place of birth mayl be on your birth registration. Searching may come up with a family with the same name in the same city. This is a good lead and should be followed-up. Searching phone books and city directories in the local public library of that area is often a good start, to find out who extended family members are of the person you are seeking, and where they may currently live. Canada-411 is another good resource.
  4. The next step is phoning. Phoning people you have never spoken to before, on such a sensitive subject, is never easy. However, one “script” for these “cold calls” is provided here. It works for relatives who may know the person – often searches are successful when one has contacted a second cousin, aunt, niece etc. of your natural parents. Use discretion and tact — losing a child to adoption was often hushed-up and relatives may not know.

See “How Adoption Records Grew Secret” by Elizabeth Samuels for more information.