Canada Home Children Immigration Records - International Institute

Immigration Records
We have already mentioned that Quebéc was the main ships’ port of entry for home children, but Halifax was also used in winter months and for Maritimes-bound passengers. These are the places where customs and immigration requirements were completed. Library and Archives Canada (LAC) holds microfilmed passenger manifests (passenger lists) for:


 * Quebéc, Quebéc 1865-1935
 * Halifax, Nova Scotia 1881-1935
 * Saint John, New Brunswick 1900-1935

For Interloan purposes, the microfilm listings can be seen online

The FamilySearch Library of Salt Lake City also has the same microfilm copies but with different film numbering. See their catalog. The good news is that some name indexes or searchable databases are available:

LAC/BIFHSGO Home Child Database
Volunteers of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa have come to the rescue by indexing much of the period for parties of young immigrants. The database at the Library and Archives Canada is a work in progress, and some years are incomplete or not yet online. BIFHSGO Database accessible through the above link.

You can search the database using combinations of entries in one or more of five fields on the form: surname; given name; year of arrival; name of ship; and keywords. Surname spelling variations should always be considered. When the results come up (most surnames with no given name will return multiple listings), clicking on the icon to the left of each name will display further detail such as age, name of ship, dates of departure and arrival, sending agency, destination, and microfilm reel number. Be sure to go to the original ship’s list to double check. The names on those lists are notoriously difficult to interpret at times so the database results can reflect this difficulty.

Reid, John D. Researching Canada’s Home Children. Heritage Productions and the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (2005).



Reid, John D. Researching Canada’s Home Children. Heritage Productions and the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (2005).



Immigration Form 30A
A changed system was in force from 1 June 1921 to 31 December 1924, and from 1919 in some cases. Instead of lengthy passenger lists for the entire ship, individual manifests for each passenger were completed, including children. Form 30A includes the name of the ship; sailing date; port and arrival date; passenger’s name; age; occupation; birthplace; race; citizenship; religion; previous residence; destination in Canada; and nearest relative in the country of origin.

You can see what a goldmine this is if it applies to your ancestors. Form 30A apply to more than just home children. They are microfilmed in quasi-alphabetical order from LAC reel T-14939 to T-15248. Again, you can consult the inventory at the Canadian Genealogy Centre under Sources by Topic (Immigration). The films are also in the holdings of the FamilySearch Library.

Form 30A

Form 30A for Barnardo Boy Edward Fenn Reid, John D. Researching Canada’s Home Children. Heritage Productions and the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (2005).



Immigration Records (1925-1935)
In this period, the Canadian government restored the previous passenger list system in an improved way. There is more passenger data than in the earlier lists. Pier 21 cooperated with LAC to produce an online database from a previous LAC name index for this period 1925-1935. See their website and go to their Databases section.

Soundex Card Index (1892-1932)
Spanning part of the above periods is an incomplete but sometimes useful index to immigrant children arriving from 1892 to 1932. The Soundex Card Index, created in 1959, survives at LAC on three microfilm reels: T-534 to T-536. The cards are arranged and filmed by Soundex code, based on the surname.

A convenient way to find the Soundex code is to use the converter accessible on RootsWeb

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Information in this Wiki page is excerpted from the online course Canadian: Immigration Records offered by The International Institute of 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.