Canadian Genealogist Invites RootsTech Attendees on a ‘Toboggan Ride’ Through Canadian Records

Longtime Alberta genealogist and RootsTech media volunteer Lianne Kruger will return to the 2026 RootsTech global family‑history conference with a lively new in-person session, “A Toboggan Ride Through Canadian Records.” Kruger will share elements of Canadian culture as she invites participants on “a quick ride” through the provinces, travelling from east to west with “lots to see.”

Kruger said, “There are common resources, but also unique ones for each province. Even Americans may discover Canadian ancestors who lived here for a generation or two before moving south again.”

RootsTech, hosted annually by FamilySearch, is the world’s largest family‑history gathering. The 2026 conference features keynote speakers, hundreds of online and in‑person classes and forums on emerging innovations. Last year’s event drew participants from over 200 countries and territories. Online participation is free, with many sessions available on demand. RootsTech 2026 runs March 5–7 in Salt Lake City, Utah, in person and online at RootsTech.org.

A Passion Rooted in Childhood

Kruger traces her interest in genealogy to age 7, when she travelled with her mother to southern Ontario and met a great-aunt who kept a “tickle trunk” of family treasures — letters from Scotland, heirlooms brought across the Atlantic Ocean and stories connecting generations. Later, trips to England, Scotland and Wales cemented her love for family research.

Throughout high school, she volunteered at a FamilySearch Center, transcribing microfilm records on Saturdays. As a young adult, she began researching her father’s line in the pre‑Internet era, writing to provinces by mail to request vital records. “With that, I was able to research back to the first European landowner of Canada. I am related to half of Quebec,” she noted with humour.

A Leader in Alberta’s Genealogy Community

A member of the Alberta Genealogical Society (AGS) since 2011, Kruger has served as branch president, first vice president and now provincial president, and she completes her term this spring. “Volunteering is a wonderful way to meet and work with those who want to help people with genealogy,” she said. “We have many wonderful people who spend hundreds of hours a year helping others.”

In addition to her AGS leadership, Kruger has served as a RootsTech media volunteer (a role formerly known as an ambassador) for seven years, promoting the conference through social media and community outreach.

Technology Meets Genealogy

Kruger has taught computer software at different universities since 1982 and blends her technical expertise with family history. She said, “I love combining my love of technology with my love of genealogy and showing people how technology can make doing their genealogy easier and faster.” This year, she will also teach a class on creating short family‑history videos using PowerPoint.

Kruger, who has spoken at RootsTech for eight consecutive years, says the energy of gathering with people who share a love of family history is what draws her back. “The best thing is the people — meeting and being with others who have the same interests and love of family history. There is constantly so much to learn,” she said.

RootsTech 2026 features several workshops by Canadian speakers and classes highlighting Canadian research:

More Canadian Content at RootsTech 2026

Thursday, March 5, 2026

• New Englanders to Nova Scotia, Canada: Soldiers, Settlers and Refugees
  David Allen Lambert — 8:00 a.m. MST (in person and broadcast)

• Healing Lineages: Indigenous Mental Wellness Through Ancestral and Genealogical Reconnection
  Charity Fleming — 9:30 a.m. MST (in person)

• Researching Your Loyalist Ancestors in the United States and Canada
  Melanie McComb — 3:00 p.m. MST (in person)

Friday, March 6, 2026

• Beginning Your Acadian and French Canadian Research and Taking It Further!
  Judy Nimer Muhn — 8:00 a.m. MST (in person and broadcast)

• Dadibaajimo - Storykeepers: The Voices We Carry Across Generations
  Charity Fleming — 1:30 p.m. MST (live webinar)

• Canadian Immigration, Naturalization and Citizenship
  Kaye Prince Hollenberg — 4:30 p.m. MST (live webinar)

• A Toboggan Ride Through Canadian Records
  Lianne Kruger — 4:30 p.m. MST (in person)

Saturday, March 7, 2026

• Complexities in Indigenous Genealogical Research
  Charity Fleming, Andi Gooch, Shane Manning, Emerson Mose, Cindy Quinney, Gavriel Wise — 9:30 a.m. MST (in person and broadcast)

• Founding a Nation: Acadian and French Canadian Pioneers and Their History
  Judy Nimer Muhn — 9:30 a.m. MST (live webinar)

• Cracking Canadian Census Clues
  Kathryn Lake Hogan — 1:30 p.m. MST (live webinar)