Canadian Probate Records

To obtain Canadian probate records, you should check the records of the court where the will was probated. The list below gives details about where you can find probate records in each province.

Alberta

For all probate records, write to:

Alberta Surrogate Court
1A Sir Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton, Alta., T5J 0R2

British Columbia

For pre-1948 records, contact the British Columbia Archives and Records Service. For that address, see the topic Canadian provincial archives.

For post-1948 records, write to:

British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency
PO BOX 9657 STN PROV GOVT
Victoria BC V8W 9P3
Telephone: (250) 952-2681

Manitoba

For a copy of probate records, contact:
Provincial Archives of Manitoba
200 Vaughan Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 1T5
Telephone: (204) 945-3971
Fax: (204) 948-2672
E-mail: pam@gov.mb.ca

New Brunswick

For probate records and indexed probate registers from 1784-1980's, contact the Provincial Archives in New Brunswick. For that address, see the topic Canadian provincial archives.

Literary Reference: Early New Brunswick Probate Records 1785-1835, by R. Wallace Hale

Newfoundland and Labrador

For all probate records, write to:

Supreme Court of Newfoundland Probate Office
Box 937
St. John's, Newfoundland
CANADA A1C 5M3
Telephone: (709) 729-2569
Fax: (709) 729-6174
Web site: http://ngb.chebucto.org/

Northwest Territories

For all probate records, write to:

Supreme Court of the Territories at Yellowknife
Registry Office
P.O. Box 1320
YELLOWKNIFE NT X1A 2L9

Telephone: (867) 920-8759

Nova Scotia

For pre-1901 probate records, write to the Public Archives of Nova Scotia:

Public Archives of Nova Scotia
6016 University Ave.
HALIFAX NS B3H 1W4

For post-1901 probate records, contact the Registry of Probate in the county where the will was probated.

Ontario

For probate records, indexes, and registers from the provincial Court of Probate from 1791-1859 and the County/District Surrogate Courts from 1793-1951, contact the Archives of Ontario. They also have indexes for the years 1858-1978:

Archives of Ontario
77 Grenville Street West
TORONTO ON M7A 2R9

Prince Edward Island

For probate records from 1807-1920, contact the Public Archives and Records Office:

Public Archives and Records Office
P.O. Box 1000
CHARLOTTETOWN PE C1A 7M4
Web site: http://www.edu.pe.ca/

Quebec

You may obtain copies of wills from either the judicial archives of the district, the notary who created the will, or from the notary's successor.

Saskatchewan

For all probate records, write to:

Surrogate Clerk
Regina Court House
2428 Victoria Avenue
REGINA SK S4P 3V7

Telephone: (306) 787-5223

Yukon

For all probate records, check with the Public Administrator's files in the Yukon Archives. Public Archives and Records Office:

Yukon Archives
P.O. Box 2703
WHITEHORSE YT Y1A 2C6