Birth, Marriage and Death Records
Vital Statistics Records (Registrations of Births, Marriages and Deaths) come under the jurisdiction of the Province of Ontario. Often these government records (or 'civil records') contain more genealogical information than church records.
Vital Statistic Records are transferred from the Office of the Registrar General of Ontario to the Archives of Ontario after a certain date. A new year is released to the general public on an annual basis.
Visit the Archives of Ontario website to find out more about accessing Vital Statistics Records.
Historical Parish Registers
Parishes maintain records of administered sacraments. Historically, Baptisms and Marriages were recorded; however some registers also list First Communion, Confirmation and Deaths.
Burial registers for Catholic Toronto cemeteries are kept by Catholic Cemeteries. Historical burial records for rural parish cemeteries - if they exist - are usually kept by the parish that administers the cemetery. We do not have duplicate copies of rural cemetery registers.
Elmbank Cemetery (a.k.a. Toronto Township Cemetery #29, Gore Cemetery, 5th Line Cemetery) was formerly located within the confines of Pearson International Airport and relocated to Assumption Cemetery, Brampton in 2001. View photos and transcriptions of the headstones at www.archtoronto.org/elmbank
Ontario Ancestors (formerly Ontario Genealogical Society) has transcribed headstones from various Catholic cemeteries within the current boundaries of the Archdiocese of Toronto.
Access to the records
In the Archdiocese of Toronto, original parish registers are not available to the public. DO NOT contact parishes for access to these registers.
The Archives is not available for individual genealogical research. However, if time permits, staff may provide genealogical information as regulated by provincial privacy legislation.
Digitized Records
In the 1980s, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also microfilmed our parish registers up to the year 1910. Most of the microfilm reels have been digitized and can be accessed online through FamilySearch. This website is free but requires you to create an account to access any digitized records.
Please note that not all of each parish's records are currently digitized. If you notice gaps in the records available, consult this listing of the microfilm reel contents to determine if the records exist but were not digitized.
Please note that this is not an ongoing program; we no longer permits third-party duplication.
Log in to your FamilySearch account in a separate window, and then click on a Parish Name in our listing below to view the respective parish's records.
City of Toronto parishes established prior to 1910 | ||
Est. Date | Parish Name | Location |
1822 | St. Paul's | 83 Power Street (Parliament & Richmond) |
1848 | St. Michael's | 200 Church Street (Dundas & Jarvis) |
1852 | St. Mary's | 589 Adelaide St. W. (Bathurst & King) |
1854 | St. Joseph's | 200 Morrish Road (Highland Creek); See St. John the Evangelist, Whitby records |
1856 | St. Basil's | 50 St. Joseph Street (Bay & Wellesley) |
1861 | St. Patrick's | 141 McCaul Street (Dundas & University) |
1875 | St. Helen's | 1680 Dundas Street (at Lansdowne) |
1878 | St. Joseph's | 172 Leslie Street (at Queen) |
1886 | Our Lady of Lourdes | 11 Earl Street (Jarvis & Wellesley) |
1887 | Sacre-Coeur / Sacred Heart | 381 Sherbourne St. (at Carlton) |
1892 | Holy Rosary | 354 St. Clair Ave. West (at Bathurst) |
1895 | St. Cecilia's | 161 Annette Street (Dundas & Keele) |
1895 | St. John's | 794 Kingston Road (at Main) |
1896 | St. Peter's | 659 Markham Street (Bloor & Bathurst) |
1900 | Holy Family | 1372 King Street West (at Jameson) |
1903 | St. Francis of Assisi | 72 Mansfield Avenue (Grace & College) |
1908 | Our Lady of Mount Carmel | 202 St. Patrick Street (Dundas & University) |
1908 | St. Ann's | 120 First Avenue (Gerrard & Broadview) |
1908 | St. Leo's | 277 Royal York Road (at Mimico) |
1908 | St. Monica's | 44 Broadway Avenue (Yonge & Eglinton) |
1909 | St. Anthony's | 1041 Bloor Street West (at Dufferin) |
Parishes outside Toronto established prior to 1910 | ||
Est. Date | Parish Name | Location |
1830-33; 1847-49 | Mission records of Fr. Gordon from St. Paul's, Toronto | Townships above Toronto |
1836-50 | Mission records of priests from St. Paul's, Toronto | Brock, Hogg's Hollow, Markham, Thornhill, Whitby |
1830 | St. Patrick's | Brampton (Wildfield) |
1833 | St. James' | Colgan |
1835 | St. Ann's / Ste. Anne | Penetanguishene |
1841 | St. John Chrysostom | Newmarket |
1843 | St. Gregory the Great | Oshawa |
1854 | St. Joseph's | Beaverton |
1855 | Guardian Angels | Orillia |
1855 | St. Mary's | Collingwood |
1855 | St. Columbkille's | Uptergrove |
1856 | St. Mary's (previously Sacred Hearts of Jesus & Mary) | Barrie |
1856 | St. Patrick's | Mississauga (Dixie) |
1856 | Ste. Croix | Lafontaine |
1857 | St. Mary Immaculate | Richmond Hill |
1860 | St. Francis de Sales (previously St. Wilfrid's) | Pickering (Ajax); See St. John the Evangelist, Whitby records |
1865 | St. Patrick's | Phelpston |
1867 | St. John the Evangelist | Albion (Caledon East) |
1871 | St. Patrick's | Stayner |
1875 | Sacred Heart | Uxbridge |
1876 | St. Paul the Apostle | Alliston |
1876 | St. Patrick's | Schomberg |
1876 | St. Timothy (previously St. Peter's) | Orangeville |
1883 | St. Margaret's | Midland |
1883 | St. John the Evangelist | Whitby |
1884 | St. Andrew's | Brechin |
1906 | St. John the Evangelist | Waubaushene |
1908 | St. Patrick's | Perkinsfield |