O Canada!

Image by toptop54 from Pixabay

As it’s Canada Day, I thought a whistle-stop tour of my favourite free Canadian family history websites was in order!

First off, covering the whole of the nation, is CanadaGenWeb, the self-styled “gateway to free Canadian genealogy”.  It contains a multitude of resources, organised by province, as well as research tips, information on current projects and lots more.  

Then, working from west coast to east through the provinces, we have:

British Columbia City Directories 1860-1955.  This page also has links to such eclectic resources as fire insurance maps, historical photographs of B.C. and the Yukon, and a database of heritage society building permits for Vancouver. 

Peel’s Prairie Provinces is a University of Alberta digital resource aimed at all researchers of western Canadian history.  It hosts online books, newspapers, images and maps relating to Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.  

The Ontario Vital Statistics Project has indexed vital and census records and other sources.  Home to Toronto and the capital city Ottawa, Ontario is the most populous province and has been a common destination for incoming settlers throughout the centuries. 

The Place-Names and Places of Nova Scotia is a useful reference tool.  Many Nova Scotians claim British or European heritage, and their genealogist relatives who remained on the opposite side of the Atlantic often find familiar names in the geography of the province, like Colchester, Halifax and Inverness.  

Newfoundland’s Grand Banks website is home to genealogical resources for the Maritime province of Newfoundland & Labrador.  These include transcriptions of gravestones, wills, passenger lists, directories, newspapers, and BMDs. 

Of course, there are several other provinces and territories not mentioned in this brief list.  These are included in the Canada GenWeb resources, as well as in the Canadian collection and learning courses on FamilySearch.