Our History

TDH was founded in Montreal in 1976. After 30 years of completing hundreds of adoptions, an Ontario office was established in Vankleek Hill in 2006. The Ontario and Quebec offices operate as separate agencies as per provincial restrictions.

Origin of the Name

TDH is the acronym for the French phrase “Terre des hommes” which is the title of a book by the French aviator/author/philosopher St Exupéry, who also wrote “The Little Prince”.
St-Exupéry created the phrase after viewing Europe from his open-cockpit airplane, and noticing that he could not see any national borders. The phrase literally translates to “men of the land” but implies that we are all members of one human family.

The TDH Family

The Internationally Federation of Terre des hommes is located in Geneva, Switzerland and has national member agencies that operate autonomously.

TDH Canada is a federally registered Canadian charity that is responsible for raising funds to implement international projects that benefit children, such as new school construction and financial aid for food and medicine.

The two TDH adoption agencies in Canada that are loosely connected to TDH Canada are:

  • TDH pour les enfants, a Quebec-registered non-profit organization responsible for international adoption that works with Quebec residents.
  • TDH Ontario Inc. an Ontario-registered non-profit organization that is licensed by the Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services to provide adoption services to residents of Ontario. In addition, TDH Ontario provides adoption services to the balance of Canadian provinces, excluding Quebec.

Our Programs

TDH Ontario is licensed to process adoption files for Bulgaria, Haiti, Honduras, Ukraine, USA, and Vietnam. Each country has its own requirements for documentation and we will assist you in preparing the country’s required dossier. We will work with you at your convenience by phone, fax, email or in person meetings.

Visit to the Country of Origin

Our licensed countries require one of two visits. TDH has staff in these countries who will take care of your needs when you arrive to receive your child(ren). Our staff will arrange your itinerary and provide transportation and translation services so the process can proceed quickly, efficiently, and meet the local cultural and bureaucratic requirements.

Follow-up Reports

Our countries are governed by the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption which requires adoptive parents to submit a yearly report with photographs of their child. We will guide you through this process to answer that we meet the standards set by each country.

Our Office

Located in the picturesque village of Vankleek Hill, we are midway between Montreal and Ottawa, close to the Quebec-Ontario border. Our office is on the second floor above the Arbor Gallery Cultural Centre.

Address:              1 Main St. E. suite 220, Hawkesbury, Ontario K6A 1A1

Business hours:    Monday through Friday 8:30 AM to 3 PM.

Email address:     [email protected]

Telephone no.:     613.678.6834