Canada. Office of the Registrar General of Canada

Identity area

Type of entity

Secondary Agency

Authorized form of name

Canada. Office of the Registrar General of Canada

Parallel form(s) of name

  • Registraire general

Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules

Other form(s) of name

  • Canada. Office of the Registrar General of Canada

Identifiers for corporate bodies

Description area

Dates of existence

1868-1966

History

The Registrar General was established in 1868 under the Department of the Secretary of State of Canada, which was the precursor to the federal Department of the Interior. It kept the Great Seal of Canada, the Privy Seal of the Governor General, the Seal of the Administrator of Canada, and the Seal of the Registrar General of Canada, and registered all documents that might require the Great Seal or federal Crown registration. Until 1881 the Registrar General's duties included the maintenance of records produced in the land patenting process and the processing of land applications from institutions. This duty was then handed to the Department of the Interior's Lands Patent Branch. In 1883 all lands patent duties that fell under the auspices of the Dominion Lands Act (1872) were transferred from the Registrar General to the Lands Patent Branch. In 1966 the Registrar General became the Department of the Registrar General, a short-lived autonomous government department.

Places

Legal status

Functions, occupations and activities

The Registrar General was founded in 1868. It served as the custodian of the Great Seal of Canada, the Privy Seal of the Governor General, the Seal of the Administrator of Canada, and the Seal of the Registrar General of Canada. It was responsible for the registration of all instruments of summons, proclamations, commissions of appointment, letters patent, letters patent of land, writs, and other instruments and documents issued under the Great Seal, and all bonds, warrants of extradition, warrants for removal of prisoners, leases, releases, deeds of sale, surrenders and all other instruments requiring federal Crown registration.

Mandates/sources of authority

An Act Providing for the Organization of the Secretary of State for Canada and for the Management of Indian and Ordinance Lands (SC 31 Vic [1868], c.42, s.4)

Internal structures/genealogy

General context

Relationships area

Related entity

Canada. Dept. of the Secretary of State of Canada (1868-1966)

Identifier of related entity

Category of relationship

hierarchical

Dates of relationship

1868-1966

Description of relationship

Canada. Dept. of the Secretary of State of Canada (1868-1966) is the controlling agency for Canada. Office of the Registrar General of Canada

Related entity

Canada. Dept. of the Registrar General

Identifier of related entity

Category of relationship

temporal

Dates of relationship

Description of relationship

Canada. Dept. of the Registrar General is the successor of Canada. Office of the Registrar General of Canada

Related entity

Canada. Lands Patent Branch (1881-1930)

Identifier of related entity

GA 5

Category of relationship

temporal

Dates of relationship

Description of relationship

Canada. Office of the Registrar General of Canada is the predecessor of Canada. Lands Patent Branch

Access points area

Subject access points

Place access points

Occupations

Control area

Authority record identifier

GA 3

Institution identifier

Rules and/or conventions used

Rules for Archival Description (RAD)

Status

Final

Level of detail

Dates of creation, revision and deletion

Authority record created on 2008-03-04. Approved 2012-03-06. Last modified on 2017-11-29.

Language(s)

Script(s)

Sources

National Archives of Canada Registrar General Sous-fonds Biography/Administrative History
Trent University Archives Fonds Level Description 76-017.

Maintenance notes

  • Clipboard

  • Export

  • EAC

Related subjects

Related places