Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935

Library and Archives Canada
Canadian Passenger lists, the official immigration documents from 1865 to 1935 for the ports of Canada, are housed at the Library and Archives Canada (RG 76 C1). Only the Quebec arrivals are indexed by name. All other port records are searchable by date and ship name only. - Free -

The digitized images found on the LAC website have been made by scanning the microfilms of the passenger lists. As exact copies, a page that was unreadable on microfilm will also be unreadable on your computer screen.

The database provides access to 21,840 references to passenger lists held at LAC for the following ports and dates:


 * City of Québec (includes Montréal) (RG 76 C1a), from May 1, 1865 to July 13, 1921;
 * Halifax, Nova Scotia (RG 76 C1b), from January 1881 to October 2, 1922;
 * Saint John, New Brunswick (RG 76 C1c), from January 4, 1900 to September 30, 1922;
 * North Sydney, Nova Scotia (RG 76 C1d), from November 22, 1906 to August 31, 1922;
 * Vancouver, British Columbia (RG 76 C1g), from January 4, 1905 to September 28, 1922; and
 * Victoria, British Columbia (RG 76 C1h), from April 18, 1905 to September 30, 1922.

To maintain a file of immigrants arriving at seaports in the United States and proceeding directly overland to Canada, the Canadian immigration service began in 1905 to collect extracts of passenger lists kept at the east coast ports of New York, Baltimore, Boston, Portland, Philadelphia and Providence.

Other Sources:
Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935 Indexed, ship lists with images Ancestry online database - Free- index only

Search technique:

 * Click Search the Database.
 * Type the given name and surname of an individual. Note: you can also type the year of arrival, the name of the port or the name of the ship, if known.
 * Click Submit Query.
 * Click on View Image to see the original ship list

Content

 * Name
 * Age
 * Gender (male or female)
 * Nationality
 * Date of arrival
 * Port of arrival
 * Name of ship
 * Archive reference, volume and page number
 * Archive microfilm reel number

Tips

 * Library and Archives Canada Ancestor Search Overall search of many Library Archives Canada online databases.


 * Moving Here Staying Here An alternative site to search all Canadian immigration records.  You will have the option to choose whether the screens display in English or French. (The indexes may not include the names of returning Canadians, tourists, visitors and immigrants en route to the United States.)