16 January 2020

Largest Canadian Genealogy Databases

Following on Tuesday's post on the Canadian census, here's a list of the largest Canadian "genealogy" databases, arranged by the number of records, for holdings of Ancestry, FamilySearch, Findmypast, Library and Archives Canada (LAC), and MyHeritage. It's for all databases with more than 2 million records. It is possible LAC may have additional databases that could fall within the criteria but there is no convenient catalogue listing.

TitleRecordsOrganization
Canada, Voters Lists, 1935-198095,335,143Ancestry
Canadian Phone and Address Directories, 1995-200237,866,987Ancestry
Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968 16,789,307Ancestry
Quebec, Canada, Notarial Records, 1637-1935 16,529,462Ancestry
Canada Phone and Address Listings13,326,736MyHeritage
Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1826-19379,357,444Ancestry
1921 Census of Canada8,800,634Ancestry
1921 Census8,788,483LAC
1921 Canada Census8,683,491MyHeritage
Canada, Obituary Collection, 1898-Current8,507,084Ancestry
Canada, City and Area Directories, 1819-19068,299,563Ancestry
Quebec Marriage Returns, 1926-19977,901,443MyHeritage
Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-19357,276,372Ancestry
Canada Census, 19117,246,159FamilySearch
1911 Census of Canada7,223,678Ancestry
1911 Census7,204,838LAC
Canada Census 19117,157,334Findmypast
1911 Canada Census7,157,334MyHeritage
Ontario, Canada Births, 1858-19136,484,503Ancestry
United States, Canadian Border Crossings6,150,580Findmypast
Canada, Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current6,103,062Ancestry
U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s5,430,203Ancestry
U.S., Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1895-19605,395,724Ancestry
1901 Census5,371,315LAC
1901 Census of Canada5,343,565Ancestry
Canada Census, 19015,343,565FamilySearch
1901 Canada Census5,213,095MyHeritage
Ontario Births, 1869-19125,200,361MyHeritage
Canada Census 19015,167,205Findmypast
1891 Census4,833,239LAC
1891 Census of Canada4,790,154Ancestry
Canada Census, 18914,787,225FamilySearch
Canada Census 18914,539,639Findmypast
1891 Canada Census4,539,588MyHeritage
1881 Census of Canada4,281,168Ancestry
Canada Census, 18814,281,160FamilySearch
1881 Census4,278,327LAC
Canada Census 18814,273,931Findmypast
1881 Canada Census4,273,931MyHeritage
Canada Passenger Lists, 1881-19223,907,325FamilySearch
Ontario, Canada, Deaths and Deaths Overseas, 1869-19473,888,625Ancestry
Canada Census, 18713,519,941FamilySearch
1871 Census of Canada3,516,910Ancestry
1871 Census3,485,761LAC
Canada Census 18713,292,788Findmypast
1871 Canada Census3,292,788MyHeritage
1861 Census3,112,269LAC
Ontario, Canada, Roman Catholic Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1760-19233,071,603Ancestry
Canadian Headstones2,982,451FamilySearch
1861 Census of Canada2,958,892Ancestry
Saskatchewan, Canada, Residents Index (SRI), 1800-20122,948,436Ancestry
Canada Census 18612,764,253Findmypast
1861 Canada Census2,764,253MyHeritage
1851 Census2,312,919LAC
Canadian Genealogy Index, 1600s-1900s2,255,689Ancestry
Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries2,137,853MyHeritage
Ontario Births, 1869-19122,081,426FamilySearch
Ontario Birth Index 1860-19202,076,046Findmypast
Canada, Prairie Provinces Census, 19262,073,271FamilySearch
Census of the Prairie Provinces, 19262,067,393LAC
Ontario Deaths, 1869-1937 and Overseas Deaths, 1939-19472,050,112FamilySearch
Canadian Obituaries, 1997-20172,035,945MyHeritage

It's entirely possible I missed some, perhaps in other sources — please let me know in a comment.

It's easy to get fixated on large databases. Experienced searchers often find a small database, if it targets the time, place and type of record of interest, can be the one that breaches a genealogical roadblock.

6 comments:

  1. John, For anyone researching in Maritime Canada they would want to look at the provincial vital statistic databases for New Brunswick (https://archives.gnb.ca/Archives/?culture=en-CA), Nova Scotia (https://www.novascotiagenealogy.com/) and Prince Edward Island (https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/service/search-public-archives-material-online). Some of these may have been indexed by one or more of the major genealogy sites, but, at least for NB and NS, the above sites include images of the documents. Arthur Owen

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  2. I would add that for Newfoundland you need to add the Grand Banks site at http://ngb.chebucto.org/.

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  3. I'm sorry for not saying this sooner -- many, many thanks for compiling this list John.

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  4. Thank you so much for all the work this must have taken. You have put the information into a table that is easy to use for anyone, no matter what their level of computer literacy. Invaluable!

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  5. Ontario, Canada, Roman Catholic Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1760-1923 is also available to browse at Family Search (not indexed).

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  6. Hello John,
    Thank you for posting such a handy reference. Much appreciated!
    For BC research, the BC Archives website is a superb resource.
    See BC Archives at http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Genealogy
    for genealogy indexes and images. “Search our indexes to births (1854-1903), marriages (1872-1943), deaths (1872-1998), colonial marriages (1859-1872) and baptisms (1836-1888).”
    Susan Campbell

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