Canada

Canada is located north of the United States in North America, the second largest country in the world. Canada is comprised of ten provinces and three territories. Various tribes indigenous peoples inhabited the land before it was settled by the French in the 17th century, and taken over by Britain in 1763. Its official languages are French and English. The French speaking population is found mostly in Quebec, the center of the French-Canadian separatist movement. Canada attained legal independence from Britain in 1982, although it remains a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations.

An understanding of Canada's history, geographic and political divisions helps genealogists better focus their search for Canadian ancestors.To trace an ancestor in Canada, you must know at least the province. Canadian research guides are available from the Salt Lake Family History Library, online and through its Family History Centers. Genealogy Today offers numerous articles on Canadian research, as well as Acadian-Cajun Database, and important resource for Acadian and French-Canadian genealogy.