Table of Contents
| Title | Presenter | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Canada, Vive la différence: How History, Law, and Place Shape Genealogical Records | Linda Yip, AG® | November 19, 2026 7:00 pm |
Canada, Vive la différence: How History, Law, and Place Shape Genealogical Records
Presented By: Linda Yip, AG® on November 19, 2026 7:00 pm
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Canada may look familiar to American researchers, but its records were shaped by fur trade routes, railways, religious institutions, corporate power, and a layered federal system that never produced a single unified archive. In this session, Linda Yip, AG®, explores how place, law, and history shaped Canadian record creation, and why understanding jurisdiction and privacy law is essential for success. Whether you’re researching Quebec parish families, Western settlement, Indigenous records, or citizenship claims, you’ll leave with a clearer strategy for navigating Canada’s unique genealogical landscape.
Linda Yip (葉秀映) was born in Vancouver, BC. She is a proud fourth-generation Canadian. Her family's historic home - the Wing Sang Company - is today the site of Canada's national Chinese Canadian Museum. Linda is an Accredited Genealogist® professional in the region of Canada Western Provinces, encompassing BC, AB, SK, and MB. As a professional, Linda has traced families in Canada, China, the U.K., and the U.S., with a speciality in the records created by Canada's Chinese Immigration Act (1885-1947). She has worked on many documentaries, the most recent being “Exclusion: Beyond the Silence,” (2024), with Keira Loughran. Linda is a member of the Ancestry® Canada Advisory Board of Genealogists. Linda specializes in researching families whose histories are difficult to trace because of migration, language barriers, or gaps in traditional records. Her work recognizes that historical records were created within social systems that sometimes overlooked or misrepresented certain communities, and she uses a wide range of sources and methods to build accurate, well-documented family histories. By combining archival research, spatial and social context, and careful source analysis, she helps clients recover stories that might otherwise remain hidden. Linda is a speaker and author. Her book, Getting Started in Chinese Genealogy - a Family Historian's Guide Even if You Don't Speak or Read Chinese - has been purchased by archives and libraries in Canada and the United States. Linda has lived in BC, AB, NS, and spent a year in Massachusetts. She currently resides in Saskatoon with her husband.