Canada Passenger Lists - FamilySearch Historical Records

Canada

What Is in This Collection?
This collection includes indexes and images of ships' passenger lists (also known as ships' manifests or seaport records of entry). It 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. The Library and Archives Canada website has posted an index of some lists that have survived.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
Passenger lists may contain the following information:
 * Name
 * Age
 * Gender (male or female)
 * Nationality
 * Date of arrival
 * Port of arrival
 * Name of ship

How Do I Search the Collection?
You can search the index or view the images or both. To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The name of a relative or year of immigration

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page.
 * 1) Select Port of Arrival
 * 2) Select Arrival date - year
 * 3) Select Name of Ship

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.



I Found Who I Was looking For, What Now?

 * Make sure to fully transcribe and cite the record entry for future reference; see the section Citing this Collection for assistance. Save or print a copy of the image
 * 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.
 * Use the record to see if other family members who may have immigrated with the person you are looking for are listed and have additional information or leads; you may also find additional information on new family members in censuses.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * 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 Who 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.
 * Try different spellings of your ancestor’s name.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * 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
 * Check the info box above for additional FamilySearch websites and related websites that may assist you in finding similar records.

Known Issues With This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached 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.

Citing This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image Citation:

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