Searching in Canada:

This page contains some basic information and resources for adoption-reunion searches in Canada. Please check other websites as well, especially Canadopt and Parent Finders.

Searching in Canada is hindered by the policies which keep adoption records closed against access by the people 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 goverments

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. Please click on the map on the Canadopt page for your province's registry information and other useful resources.

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:

• Canadian Adoptees Registry
• Kindred Pursuits (sponsored by Canadopt)
• Canadian Adoption Reunion Registry (sponsored by Parent Finders)
• International Soundex Reunion Registry The largest reunion registry in the world -- hence the best chance of finding a match.

  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, Parent Finders and Canadopt. 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 or Newfoundland, 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 a "open records." Ontario will be opening its records also in late 2007.

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.

 

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