Actually, depending on what Province you live in it is really quite easy to get "lucky" in Canada
For example, if I find a motor up here in Ontario that has a VIN number on it or I have a GM shipper that lists VIN numbers, I can simply go to a DMV kiosk, pay $20 and run the VIN through the DMV. If the car is still registered in Ontario I get the current owners name and city and a list of all previous owners names and the city where they lived at the time of ownership. Then a few simple Google searches and you quite often have a complete history of the car. Guys up here have been doing that for 20 years...why do you think so many rare Canadian cars have been located???