02 September 2010

Ancestry Free Access to Immigration Records

The following is a press release from Ancestry.ca. As with their previous free access periods, you will likely have to register to take advantage.

TORONTO, ON (September 2, 2010) Ancestry.ca, Canada’s leading family history website, will open its complete database of international immigration records for free from the 2nd to the 6th of September 2010.

Ancestry’s international immigration collection covers more than 193 million records in 273 collections from around the world.

Included are the Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935, which covers a period of 70 years and contains more than 7.2 million names, including 5.6 million of those who travelled from around the world to start a new life in Canada.


The Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935, the originals of which are held by the Library and Archives Canada (LAC), are the official records of the arrival of the majority of people accepted as immigrants in Canada during this key immigration period.

An estimated 11.6 million Canadians or 37 per cent of the current population have ancestors included in this Canadian collection, which also includes records for many vacationers and travelers, business people, crew members and historical figures such as foreign leaders, scientists and celebrities.

The collection includes passenger lists from all the major ports of arrival including Halifax, Saint John, North Sydney, Quebec City, Montreal, Vancouver, Victoria and even east coast ports in the U.S. where many arrived before proceeding directly to Canada overland.

Ancestry.ca Managing Director Karen Peterson comments: “Immigration records provide key pieces of information for those looking into their family’s past. They literally show you where you came from - arguably the most important piece of information you can learn about your ancestors.

“We’re so excited to be able to allow free access to these records and we hope it inspires more people to become interested in learning about who they are and where they came from.”

To learn where your ancestors came from, visit www.ancestry.ca.

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