This is one of the most frequently-asked questions from my clients.
How far back I can follow the traces of your ancestors depends on different conditions and to which country our research applies.
In Canada, being a newer country as far as researching ancestors is concerned, there are records for Ontario, Quebec and the Maritime Provinces back to the 18th century. The western provinces were developed later although there may be records in private archives such as the Hudson’s Bay Company.
I always endeavour to go back as far as I can but much will depend on the records available. Also, if your surname is distinctive, that could be a help or a hindrance due to spelling assumptions when records were created. All it takes is another dialect that isn’t heard correctly or a person unable to read or write and you can get many spelling variations. In the United Kingdom, we have the censuses available back to 1841 and civil registration began in 1837; however, many parish records are available at the various family history societies in England and Wales which could take us back a century or more. It is possible, depending on how extensive a search is requested, that a third party with access to the physical registers will be engaged but this will be set out in our estimation of fees.
These discrepancies are only discovered when we proceed with the research!