Canada Passenger Lists - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
Listes de passagers canadiens

Record Description
These records include indexes and images of ships' passenger lists (also known as ships' manifests or seaport records of entry). Contains records for the ports of:


 * Quebec City, 1900-1921;
 * Halifax, 1881-1922;
 * Saint John, 1900-1912;
 * North Sydney, 1906-1912;
 * Vancouver, 1905-1912;
 * Victoria, 1905-1912;
 * New York, 1906-1912;
 * Eastern US Ports, 1905-1912.

The lists for United States ports include only those names of passengers with intentions of proceeding directly to Canada.

The Canadian government did not keep lists of emigrants. Before 1947, Canadian citizenship was not separate from British, and Canadians moved freely throughout the British Empire. Before 1895, when the United States government began keeping border-crossing records, Canadians moved to the United States with few restrictions.

During the early 20th century, consular officials of the Russian Empire stationed in Canada and the United States kept files on former empire residents who sought their aid (to help in filling out naturalization and passport applications or to obtain proof of military service in Russia).

These are especially helpful for documenting Jewish immigrants. Although this collection is mostly considered a list of Jewish immigrants from Russia, many of the records are for other ethnic immigrants, including Ukrainians and Finns.

There are very few passenger lists for ships coming into Canada before 1865. Lists were not made or were destroyed. The Library and Archives Canada website has posted an index of some lists that have survived. Some of these indexed names have been gathered from declarations of aliens and names of some Irish orphans.

Record Content
Passenger lists may contain the following information:


 * Name
 * Age
 * Gender (male or female)
 * Nationality
 * Date of arrival
 * Port of arrival
 * Name of ship

How to Use the Record
To search this collection, it would be helpful if you have the following information:


 * Ancestor's name
 * Name of ship
 * Port of departure

Search the Collection
Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

To search the collection images, ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page: ⇒Select the appropriate “Port of Arrival” category ⇒Select the appropriate “Arrival date - year” ⇒Select the appropriate “Name of Ship,” which will take you to the images.

As you search the collection by image, compare the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

Using the information
When you have found the information that you are looking for, you can:


 * Identify the last place of residence before your ancestors departure
 * Calculate the age to give an approximate date of birth
 * Find the names of other family members traveling with your ancestor at the time.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Related Websites

 * Library and Archives of Canada
 * Olive Tree Genealogy: Canadian Passenger Lists
 * Immigrants to Canada

Related Wiki Articles

 * Canada History Links
 * Canada Historic Maps
 * Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935
 * Canada Emigration and Immigration

Citations for this Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image Citation: