*Until recently birth records were released to the public after 100 years, however new regulations changed that to 104 years. As a result birth records for 1918 won't be released to the Archives of Ontario until 2023.

Registrations vs. Certificates: Registrations are recorded at, or near, the time of birth by an informant who was present at the birth (historically a parent, close relation or a doctor). At the end of each year registrations were copied into a book and sent to the government. This book is what was microfilmed (later digitized). Certificates are certified copies of a registration and are issued by the government but only for the years indicated above. Certificates may or may not include all the information available on the registration and come in two forms - short and long (also known as the genealogical certificate). The short certificate contains information specific to the birth (name, date, place), while the long certificate includes names of parents if that information was registered.