I have a question, who do I ask?

I've looked everywhere for my family and can't find them, can CanadaGenWeb help?

I wish to adopt a Canada GenWeb Project site but there's already a host, what do I do?

Where do I post my query?

Wouldn't posting my query on the Canada GenWeb board be more effective?

I posted a query and now it's gone, what happened?

I sent an e-mail to a CanadaGenWeb site and have not yet gotten a reply. Why?

How do I add information to CanadaGenWeb?

How can my site become part of CanadaGenWeb?

I have a question, who do I ask?
It depends on the question you have. If you are seeking information about a specific place ask the GenWeb host in that area (start by going to the Province or Territory GenWeb site, then follow the links provided from there). If you are seeking an answer to a general question not specific to an area, ask CanadaGenWeb.

I've looked everywhere for my family and can't find them, can CanadaGenWeb help?
CanadaGenWeb can give suggestions and pointers (99% of which are already posted on this website) but generally can't help with researching a specific family.

If you know what province or territory your family was from, or one that they lived in, please visit that GenWeb site instead of querying on this site for further information. CanadaGenWeb is for non-specific general information about Canadian genealogy. Each province and territory offer their own unique resources that are specific to their area, the co-ordinators of these areas are much more knowledgeable about their province or territory.

If you have a place name but are unsure of where in Canada it is, please use the maps & places links we offer. If the first link does not give you a result, please try the next. Before querying about a place name PLEASE try ALL of these links.

If you've attempted the above suggestions and are still in a quandry, please use the CanadaGenWeb query board. Note that this board is for "UNKNOWN place in Canada" (meaning the province/territory is unknown) only. If your query is misposted it may be moved or deleted without notice (read first, query later to ensure you're posting on the correct board).

I wish to adopt a Canada GenWeb Project site but there's already a host, what do I do?
Nothing, unless the site is up for 'adoption' or the host has made note on the site they wish to resign. All Canada GenWeb sites are volunteer run on a first-come first-serve basis. If you feel a site isn't living up to its possible potential, politely e-mail the host of that site and offer your help.

If a site is listed as 'host needed' or 'up for adoption', contact the Provincial/Territorial Host. If it's a Provincial/Territorial GenWeb site, contact Canada GenWeb after you've read the Information for Volunteers and Prospective Volunteers page.

Where do I post my query?
On the page closest to your area of research. For example, if you are seeking ancestors in Halifax, you post on the Halifax query board, not the Nova Scotia board, and definitely not on the Canada board.

Most Canada GenWeb pages use the Rootsweb (Ancestry) message board system. With this system you need only post your query once. It is then in the system and searchable by anyone seeking your surname, regardless of where you posted. For more information about this system and how to use it, go here

Wouldn't posting my query on the Canada GenWeb board be more effective?
No. If everyone did that the query board would be huge, and who wants to sift through hundreds of new queries each day? The Canada GenWeb query board is only to be used when you don't know where in Canada you should be searching. If you know the province, post on the provincial board. If you have a city/village/town name or a county/parish/district/region name, post on that query board. The closer you get to your intended search area, the more likely you are to find what you need.

I posted a query and now it's gone, what happened?
If your query was posted more than one month ago, it may have expired or been moved to another area of the query page to make room for more recent queries. Generally most queries stay posted for 3-6 months, but after that they may be deleted to make room for new queries.

Also note that each GenWeb coordinator has discretion over the queries posted on their query pages. If your query is posted incorrectly (such as querying for an area not covered by the query page where you posted), your query may be deleted without notificiation.

I sent an e-mail to a CanadaGenWeb site and have not yet gotten a reply. Why?
There could be several factors involved. Please keep in mind that this is a volunteer project and many of those involved have very full lives that take priority. Give at least two weeks before assuming your e-mail has been overlooked. Try e-mailing a second time and if you still have not heard back within three weeks of your original e-mail, contact the province/territory host (if you are trying to contact a province/territory site, contact CanadaGenWeb)

How do I add information to CanadaGenWeb?
By contacting the host of the site you wish to submit information to. Please note that the site you are currently viewing covers all of Canada not area-specific (such as a county) information. While we appreciate any and all submissions, please help us out by submitting them to the site where they will be most useful.

How can my site become part of CanadaGenWeb?
CanadaGenWeb seeks individuals to create area-specific sites that can be passed along "as is" when a host/co-ordinator retires. If you feel that your website would benefit CanadaGenWeb visitors please request a link to your site from the GenWeb site that is most similar to your own (for example, if your site has information on researching Edmonton, Alberta submit your link to the Edmonton GenWeb).