Registration of Deaths in Canada is the responsibility of each province or territory. Even after Civil Registration of Vital Statistics began, many people did not comply with the law as they were suspicious as to why the Government wanted this information.
Genealogists will find that the information provided on a death registration varied over time. For example in Ontario, parents' names of the deceased individual were not required before the early 1900s.
Following is a list of provinces and territories of Canada and the official year of the start of mandatory Death Registrations:
British Columbia 1872
New Brunswick 1888
Newfoundland & Labrador 1892
Northwest Territories 1925
Nova Scotia 1864
Nunavut before 1999 see NorthWest Territories
Prince Edward Island 1906
Quebec registered in church from the early 17th century