Canada, Immigration Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Canada

What is in This Collection?
This collection contains immigration records documenting ocean arrivals from 1919-1924 to Canada. During this time period required individual manifests, Immigration form 30A to be completed and submitted to the immigration officers at the ports of arrival instead of the large passenger sheets used previously. A form was required for each passenger including children with the exception of those continuing on to the United States. The original records are held at Library and Archives Canada, RG 76.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records: Each form usually contains: • 4

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The year of immigration

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Use the information found in the record to find other records such as emigrations, port records, and ship’s manifests
 * Use the record to learn your ancestor’s foreign and “Americanized” names, if they were different
 * Use the record to learn the place of origin and find their church and vital records such as birth, baptism, and marriage records
 * Use the information found in the record to find land and probate records
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you find possible relatives
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby town or county
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names
 * Look for the Declaration of Intent soon after the immigrant arrived. Then look for the Naturalization Petition five years later, when the residency requirement would have been met. Look for naturalization records in federal courts, then in state, county, or city courts. An individual may have filed the first and final papers in different courts and sometimes in a different state if the person moved. Immigrants who were younger than 18 when they arrived did not need to file a Declaration of Intent as part of the process
 * Check other possible ports of entry

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in Canada.
 * Canada Record Finder
 * Canada Research Tips and Strategies

FamilySearch Catalog

 * Ships' passenger lists for Canada, 1900-1922, 1925-1935
 * Canada passenger lists, 1881-1922
 * Halifax, Nova Scotia. Passenger lists, 1880-1899
 * Quebec City passenger lists, 1865-1900; index, 1865-1869

FamilySearch Historical Records

 * Canada Passenger Lists, 1881-1922
 * Canada, Nova Scotia, Records of Aliens pre-examined at Halifax, 1923-1933

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.