Passenger / Ship Lists are challenging to locate because they are not housed at a central location. Some are archived by the country where the ship originated (not where the passengers originated but the ship itself!). Some are archived by the receiving country, some are archived by the departing country.

Library & Archives Canada has some passenger lists for the years 1865-1935. For earlier arrivals (pre-1865) you will have to rely on other immigration records. For later arrivals (post-1935) you will have to contact Citizenship & Immigration Canada.

Canada also had two immigration stations:

Grosse Île - an island in the St Lawrence river that operated from 1832-1939

Pier 21 in Halifax, Nova Scotia - operated from 1928-1971
Also take advantage of the Immigrant and Passenger List links offered on this site. Keep clicking long enough and you may just find the passenger list (or information on where to find it) you're looking for.

Census Records
The first national census enumeration occurred in 1871 and from that point forward a census was taken every ten years. Starting in 1906 the prairie provinces were enumerated every five years. In 1956 the national enumeration also became every five years (the most recent enumeration was done in May 2006).

Due to privacy laws these census records are held by Statistics Canada for 92 years then are released to Library & Archives Canada for public viewing. The next national census (1921) will be released in 2013.

In the chart below an x marks if a census is available for public viewing. (Note that there are regional census records for years other than those listed below - see the Canada GenWeb site that covers that area for more information.)

Library & Archives Canada has digitized the 1851/2, 1901, 1906, and 1911 census for free viewing on their website. The 1916 is currently being digitized and there are plans to do the same for census years 1861-1891. The 1881 census has been transcribed by the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and is available for free viewing on their website.

Other census records are being transcribed by various groups and projects both within CanadaGenWeb and by other organizations. Visit the Canada GenWeb site that covers your area of research for more information.

earliest

1851/2

1861

1871

1881

1885

1886

1891

1901

1906

1911

1916

1921

1935

1945

Acadia

1671-1753

Alberta

x

x

x

x

x

x

British Columbia

x

x

x

x

x

Manitoba

1849

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

New Brunswick

1840

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

Newfoundland

1836

1845

1869

1884

x

x

x

x

x

Nova Scotia

1752

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

Northwest Territories

x

x

x

x

x

Ontario

1796

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

Prince Edward Island

1841

x

x

x

x

x

x

Québec

1666

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

Saskatchewan

x

x

x

x

x

x

Yukon

x

x

Dates of Enumeration:

1851/2: 12 Jan 1852 1861: 14 Jan 1861 1871: 2 Apr 1871 1881: 4 Apr 1881 1891: 6 Apr 1891 1901: 31 Mar 1901 1906: 24 Jun 1906 1911: 1 Jun 1911 1916: 1 Jun 1916

1921: ? 1926: ? 1931: ? 1936: ? 1941: 2 Jun 1941 1946: ? 1951: ? 1956: ? 1961: ?

1966: ? 1971: 1 Jun 1971 1976: ? 1981: ? 1986: ? 1991: ? 1996: 14 May 1996 2001: 15 May 2001 2006: 16 May 2006

Military Records
In the 1800's men aged 16-60 were required to serve in the militia especially if Canada (or Britain) was involved in a conflict. Exceptions were given to the clergy and the infirm.

Military records prior to 1914 are now public record. Information on those who served after 1914 can be obtained by the veteran himself or by their next-of-kin 20 years after the veteran's death.

Most Canadian military records were kept by the British War Office, but copies of many are now available through Library & Archives Canada. The Canadian Virtual War Memorial is a database of Canadians & Newfoundlanders who died in service.

Vital Statistics (Births, Marriages, Deaths)
There are two "types" of vital statistics - those collected by the government (called civil registration) and those taken by the church. As church records vary widely depending upon religion and area this chart refers only to civil registration. (For information on church record availability see the Canada GenWeb site that covers your research area. Note that church records pre-date civil registration so if your ancestor was born prior to civil registration start looking for their church!)

Civil registrations are cared for by the provincial and territorial governments and each has their own method of releasing these records for public viewing. Some release their registrations to the provincial archive, others retain the registrations and allow access only by request for a fee. (Usually if registrations are at the provincial archive they've been microfilmed and will also be available world-wide through Family History Centres). Registrations that are still held by the provincial government can be accessed for a fee by the person the registration was created for (i.e. your birth registration), by next-of-kin (proof required) or a legal representative.

This chart indicates the year civil registrations are available from. YR = the number of years that must elapse before the registrations are made public (i.e. Alberta Births are available from 1889 and made public after 100 years). Availability = where you can view the registrations, either through the provincial archive or by request (usually for a fee) from the provincial government. For more information on where these registrations are available (both online & off) see the Province or Territory Canada GenWeb sites.

	Births	YR	Marriages	YR	Deaths	YR	Availability
Alberta	1889+	100	1889+	75	1889+	50	Prov. Gov.
British Columbia	1872-1903		1872+	75	1872+	20	Prov. Archive
Manitoba	1882+	100	1882+	80	1882+	70	Prov. Gov.
New Brunswick	1888+	95	1888+	50	1888+	50	Prov. Archive
Newfoundland	1891-1899		1891-1922		1891-1949		Prov. Archive
Nova Scotia	1864-1877; 1908+	100	1864-1877; 1906+	75	1864-1877; 1908+	50	Prov. Archive
Northwest Territories & Nunavut	1925+		1925+		1925+		Terr. Gov.
Ontario	1869+	95	1858+	80	1869+	70	Prov. Archive
Prince Edward Island	1906+	100	1906+	90	1906+		Prov. Gov.
Québec	1926+	100	1969+	100	1926+	100	Prov. Gov.
Saskatchewan	1888+		1878+		1888+		Prov. Gov.
Yukon	1896+	100	1896+	75	1896+	75	Terr. Gov.