Canada Passenger Lists - International Institute

Canadian Passenger Lists can be Divided into Three Groups:

 * Prior to 1865
 * 1865-1935, and
 * 1936 onwards

Prior to 1865
From 1803 the British government required a ship’s captain to list all passengers at point of departure. In 1817 it became a requirement to also list passengers at the disembarkation port, but unfortunately these records seem not to have been preserved in any official capacity. Some of these earlier records have survived. However the chances of finding some kind of list are much greater if your ancestor was part of an organized party of immigrants. In that case you should check the appropriate provincial archives to see what types of records they hold. Also many of the provincial genealogical societies have published transcriptions of records pertaining to local immigration.

As was mentioned earlier, many immigrants to Canada came through U.S. ports: New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Boston being the most common, but don’t rule out smaller ports such as Hartford, Bangor and Kennebunk.


 * Some arrivals were recorded in newspapers in Halifax, Quebec City, Montreal and other port cities, but generally speaking, any names mentioned were those of cabin passengers, while those travelling steerage—as most did—were dismissed with the words, “there were also 385 immigrants in steerage (Baxter 1999, 56)

Some Passenger Lists exist for the period of the French regime and are held by LAC (MG 1 F5B). From the time of the British victory over France in 1763 until 1865, almost every ship arriving at a Canadian port came from Great Britain. This does not mean that all immigrants during this period were of British extraction, but that the majority of immigrants from other countries would have travelled from their homelands first to Britain and then to Canada.

As you can see from the passenger list for The Ann, some early lists provide very little genealogical information.



List of Loyalists Aboard “The Ann”, 1792. Library and Archives Canada. RG 19, Vol. 4447, file folder 16.

Passenger and Immigration Lists Index
One useful source to consult is Filby and Meyer’s Passenger and Immigration Lists Index. Originally published in three volumes alphabetically by surname of passenger, supplementary volumes continue to be added annually. Keep in mind that the information in these books is from lists already published. This is a collection on Ancestry.com called U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. The information is also available on CD-ROM.

Newspapers
The Quebec Gazette newspaper has been indexed from 1764-1825 and is available on microfilm from Library and Archives Canada. Editions of the Quebec Mercury, although not indexed are also available on microfilm from LAC. A complete list of LAC newspaper holdings,sorted by province is available, can be searched from the LAC Home Page

1865-1935
This time period is discussed in three separate sections in order to address the different ways in which information was collected.

1865-1918 The recording of immigrants did not begin officially until 1865 for Quebec and 1881 for Halifax, which were the two main ports of entry between 1865 and 1900. In most cases to search these records you need to know date and port of arrival.

As of 1865, federal immigration authorities provided preprinted forms to shipping companies. Information on passengers was to be filled in by the ship’s purser, before they disembarked. Passenger lists exist for the official ports of Quebec City and Halifax (see details below). Some other ports became official later on: Saint John, N.B. in 1900, Victoria and Vancouver in 1905, North Sydney, N.S. in 1906 and Montreal in 1919. There are no records for arrivals at ‘unofficial’ ports.

The Jewish Genealogical Society (Toronto) has created an index of the Rotenberg Ledger and placed it online. The ledger provides passenger information on people (mostly of Jewish origin) travelling between Europe and Toronto during the years 1911-1917. Information may include passengers’ names, ages of children, points of embarkation and debarkation, Toronto address etc.

Other good news is that Library and Archives Canada (LAC) and Ancestry.ca entered into a partnership to index Canadian passenger lists encompassing the years 1865-1935. The index became available to Ancestry.ca subscribers in September 2008 and provides links to the actual images held by LAC.

This is a great research tool which no doubt will help many genealogists finally locate the arrival records of their ancestors. However, remember, a transcription is only as good as the quality of the microfilm and the skill of the transcribers. Just because you don’t find it in the index doesn’t mean it’s not there. Don’t forget to search alternate spellings.

Compare the information contained in the following “Bavarian” passenger list with that of the Ann.

1919-1924
The records for this time period are different. Rather than lists of everyone travelling on a given sailing, each passenger (including children) required a separate form, called a Form 30A. However, in the earlier version of Form 30A used in 1919, the names of accompanying dependents were usually included with the head-of-household, not on separate forms. Those heading to the United States were not required to complete the form. Be aware that there is some overlap between 1919 and 1922 in the use of the Form 30A and the previous passenger lists. “Officially, the individual manifests were in use from June 1, 1921 to Dec. 31, 1924 ...” (Obee 2004, 10). These forms were microfilmed in quasi-alphabetical order, reverse side of the form first.

Examine the Form 30A for Barbora Butkute. What genealogical information can you find in this record?

“Bavarian” Passenger List

“Bavarian” Passenger List. Date of Sailing 21/9/05. Library and Archives of Canada. Part of first page. Microfilm T-485.



 Form 30A

Barbora Butkute. Front of Form 30A, SS Cleveland, 1924. Library and Archives Canada. Microfilm T-14978.



Barbora Butkute. Back of Form 30A, SS Cleveland, 1924. Library and Archives Canada. Microfilm T-14978.



1925-1935
In 1925, the Department of Immigration and Colonization reverted to the passenger list format, but the newer manifests contained even more information than those up to 1919. These lists have also been indexed and are available on the LAC website.

The indexes contain basic information such as name of immigrant, port of arrival, age, country of origin and the page and film number for the actual passenger list. If you find your ancestor on the index, it is important to consult the actual film as much more information is available from the passenger manifest. Library and Archives Canada has information on their website regarding inter library loans. However—a word of caution: there are some inconsistencies in the transcribed database. If you don’t find your ancestor in the database, the name may just have been missed. Transcribed databases can contain errors or omissions.

Here’s an example of what you can find:

From the index page, select the search option, enter the name Malcolm McGregor and click on Search.

From the returns, click on the name of the one who is 36 years of age.

Information provided:

Surname: McGregor Given name: Malcolm Age: 36 Sex: M Nationality: Sco Date of arrival: 1926/06/27 (YYYY/MM/DD) Port of arrival: Quebec, Quebec Ship: AURANIA, Cunard Reference: RG76 - IMMIGRATION, series C-1-a Volume: 1926 volume 8 Page: 23 Microfilm reel: T-14723

Next, it is important to view the actual microfilm if you can. Note the additional information found from consulting the full record:

Name: Malcolm McGregor Occupation: Miner Going to friend: Mr. Robert McMillan, Ste Annes de Bellevue, Quebec Nearest relative in country he came from: Mrs. Letitia McGregor (wife), 53 Robertson Place, Kilmarnock Money in possession: 5 pounds Birthplace: Hurlford, Scotland By relying solely on the online index, you may miss important information on your ancestor.

After 1935
From the LAC website:


 * “Records of immigrants arriving at Canadian land and seaports from January 1, 1936 onwards remain in the custody of Citizenship and Immigration Canada. To request a copy of another person’s immigration record, you must mail your request to the under-noted office:”

Citizenship and Immigration Canada Public Rights Administration 360 Laurier Avenue West,10th Floor Ottawa, ON K1A 1L1

Note that you must complete an Access to Information Request form and pay a fee of $5.00. The form is available through a link at the above noted site.

Sound confusing? Use the following ‘Tip Sheet’ to keep it all straight:

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Information in this Wiki page is excerpted from the online course Canadian: Immigration Records offered by The National Institute for Genealogical Studies. To learn more about this course or other courses available from the Institute, see our website. We can be contacted at [mailto:wiki@genealogicalstudies.com wiki@genealogicalstudies.com]

We welcome updates and additions to this Wiki page.