Searches of the National Registration File of 1940

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The National Registration File of 1940 resulted from the compulsory registration of all persons, 16 years of age or older, in the period from 1940 to 1946. This information was originally obtained under the authority of The National Resources Mobilization Act and the War Measures Act. Custody of the records was subsequently given to Statistics Canada, then known as the Dominion Bureau of Statistics.

As a result, the National Registration File of 1940 is not subject to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act but is instead covered by the Privacy Act. According to this Act, when a person has been dead for more than 20 years, the information is no longer considered to be personal and can be disclosed.

Content note

Name, address, age, date of birth, conjugal status, dependents, country of birth (persons registered and parents only), nationality, racial origin, languages, education, general health, class of occupation, occupation or craft, employment status, work experience by type, mechanical or other abilities, latent skills, wartime circumstances, previous military service.

A search can be undertaken for an individual after the following information or documentation has been provided:

- Proof that the individual has been deceased for more than 20 years (a death certificate is preferable. However, any document which indicates the date of death, for example an obituary notice, is acceptable.);

- The individual's place of residence during the registration period.

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