Canadian Museum of History – Gatineau, QC
In addition to its over 25,000 square metres of museum exhibition space, the Canadian Museum of History is a centre for historical and cultural research about Canadian history and identity. Its National Collection consists of more than four million artifacts, specimens, works of art, written documents, and sound and visual recordings. More than 218,000 artifacts in the collection are accessible in an online database, which include those related to immigrant experience to and in Canada, including the Jewish community. A research guide is available to help develop your research strategy.
Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21– Halifax, NS
Pier 21 is a National Historic Site that was the gateway to Canada for one million immigrants between 1928 and 1971. Located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, it also served as the departure point for 368,000 Canadian military personnel during the Second World War. Pier 21 has a museum and an archives.Some resources relating to immigration between and family history are available online, and staff can provide support to researchers who cannot visit the museum in person. These records include databases for ships’ arrivals and passenger lists. You can also order images of ships that arrived in Halifax and elsewhere in Canada.
The website contains brief histories of Pier 21 and of immigration to Canada.
The Museum has been recording personal histories related to Canadian immigration since 2000. Today, the Oral History Collection has grown to over 1,200 audio and video interviews with immigrants, refugees, and Canadian-born individuals with a link to immigration.
Canadian Register of Historic Places
is a federal, provincial, and territorial collaboration on the listing and documentation of Canada’s Historic Places. Within it can be found places of historic significance for the Jewish community. They include synagogues, historic districts (e.g. Kensington Market, Toronto, and The Main, Montréal), cemeteries, libraries, museums, etc. Find them at: https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/results-resultats.aspx?m=2&Keyword=JewishCanadian Register of Historic Places
Library and Archives Canada (LAC) – Ottawa, ON, and Gatineau, QC
Among the holdings of Canada’s national library and archives, known as Library and Archives Canada (LAC), are resources dedicated to genealogy and family history. In addition to its own collection, LAC also provides information about sources held at provincial and territorial archives, links to genealogical sources and other online resources.
Important records at LAC for genealogists include links for:
- Border entries
- Canada Gazette
- Canadian newspapers
- Citizenship and naturalization records
- Ethno-cultural groups
- Federal census records
- Immigration and passenger records
- Land records
- Military records
LAC also holds specialized records for Jewish research, which are outlined here: https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/history-ethnic-cultural/Pages/jewish.aspx. They include, among others:
- Canadian National Committee on Refugees collection (1934-1948)
- Juvenile Inspection Reports include inspection reports for some European children, including those brought to Canada by the Canadian Jewish War Orphans Committee (1920-1921).
- Likacheff-Ragosine-Mathers (LI-RA-MA) collection, which contains documents, by individual names of immigrants who had contact with the Russian consulates in Montréal, Vancouver, and Halifax, from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century, including eastern Poland and Finland, as well as most of the former USSR.
- Orders In Council (OIC) are legal tools that address administrative and legislative matters of the federal government. Digitized records of most interest to Jewish genealogist cover 1867 to 1916 and relate to the waiving of immigration restrictions for specific reasons approved by the Governor in Council.
- Synagogue records
Statistics Canada – Ottawa, ON, and Gatineau, QC
Statistics Canada is Canada’s national statistical office. It holds historical resources that can be useful for genealogical research. They include:
- Census of Population
- It produces a The first official census in Canadian history was in New France in 1666. In 1871, Canada began to collect a national census, which has been taken every 10 years since. In the modern era, data have been released as detailed statistical portraits of Canada and Canadians by their demographic, social, and economic characteristics. Results from the 2021 Census are being released throughout 2022. Historical census data up to and including 1921 are held by Library and Archives Canada. In Canada, census data are released 92 years after collection. The next historical Census of Population to be released with data on individuals will be for 1931, scheduled for 2023.
- National Registration File of 1940, which was the product of the compulsory military registration of all residents, 16 years of age or older, between 1940 to 1946.The records can be disclosed for all persons who have been dead for more than 20 years, with proof, or if 110 years have passed since the date of birth.
- Canada Year Book, which was published annually between 1867 to 2012. Digital copies of some years are available online. It contains analytical articles, tables, and charts about the social and economic life of Canada and its citizens.
