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.
| Title | Records | Organization |
|---|---|---|
| Canada, Voters Lists, 1935-1980 | 95,335,143 | Ancestry |
| Canadian Phone and Address Directories, 1995-2002 | 37,866,987 | Ancestry |
| Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968 | 16,789,307 | Ancestry |
| Quebec, Canada, Notarial Records, 1637-1935 | 16,529,462 | Ancestry |
| Canada Phone and Address Listings | 13,326,736 | MyHeritage |
| Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1826-1937 | 9,357,444 | Ancestry |
| 1921 Census of Canada | 8,800,634 | Ancestry |
| 1921 Census | 8,788,483 | LAC |
| 1921 Canada Census | 8,683,491 | MyHeritage |
| Canada, Obituary Collection, 1898-Current | 8,507,084 | Ancestry |
| Canada, City and Area Directories, 1819-1906 | 8,299,563 | Ancestry |
| Quebec Marriage Returns, 1926-1997 | 7,901,443 | MyHeritage |
| Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935 | 7,276,372 | Ancestry |
| Canada Census, 1911 | 7,246,159 | FamilySearch |
| 1911 Census of Canada | 7,223,678 | Ancestry |
| 1911 Census | 7,204,838 | LAC |
| Canada Census 1911 | 7,157,334 | Findmypast |
| 1911 Canada Census | 7,157,334 | MyHeritage |
| Ontario, Canada Births, 1858-1913 | 6,484,503 | Ancestry |
| United States, Canadian Border Crossings | 6,150,580 | Findmypast |
| Canada, Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current | 6,103,062 | Ancestry |
| U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s | 5,430,203 | Ancestry |
| U.S., Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1895-1960 | 5,395,724 | Ancestry |
| 1901 Census | 5,371,315 | LAC |
| 1901 Census of Canada | 5,343,565 | Ancestry |
| Canada Census, 1901 | 5,343,565 | FamilySearch |
| 1901 Canada Census | 5,213,095 | MyHeritage |
| Ontario Births, 1869-1912 | 5,200,361 | MyHeritage |
| Canada Census 1901 | 5,167,205 | Findmypast |
| 1891 Census | 4,833,239 | LAC |
| 1891 Census of Canada | 4,790,154 | Ancestry |
| Canada Census, 1891 | 4,787,225 | FamilySearch |
| Canada Census 1891 | 4,539,639 | Findmypast |
| 1891 Canada Census | 4,539,588 | MyHeritage |
| 1881 Census of Canada | 4,281,168 | Ancestry |
| Canada Census, 1881 | 4,281,160 | FamilySearch |
| 1881 Census | 4,278,327 | LAC |
| Canada Census 1881 | 4,273,931 | Findmypast |
| 1881 Canada Census | 4,273,931 | MyHeritage |
| Canada Passenger Lists, 1881-1922 | 3,907,325 | FamilySearch |
| Ontario, Canada, Deaths and Deaths Overseas, 1869-1947 | 3,888,625 | Ancestry |
| Canada Census, 1871 | 3,519,941 | FamilySearch |
| 1871 Census of Canada | 3,516,910 | Ancestry |
| 1871 Census | 3,485,761 | LAC |
| Canada Census 1871 | 3,292,788 | Findmypast |
| 1871 Canada Census | 3,292,788 | MyHeritage |
| 1861 Census | 3,112,269 | LAC |
| Ontario, Canada, Roman Catholic Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1760-1923 | 3,071,603 | Ancestry |
| Canadian Headstones | 2,982,451 | FamilySearch |
| 1861 Census of Canada | 2,958,892 | Ancestry |
| Saskatchewan, Canada, Residents Index (SRI), 1800-2012 | 2,948,436 | Ancestry |
| Canada Census 1861 | 2,764,253 | Findmypast |
| 1861 Canada Census | 2,764,253 | MyHeritage |
| 1851 Census | 2,312,919 | LAC |
| Canadian Genealogy Index, 1600s-1900s | 2,255,689 | Ancestry |
| Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries | 2,137,853 | MyHeritage |
| Ontario Births, 1869-1912 | 2,081,426 | FamilySearch |
| Ontario Birth Index 1860-1920 | 2,076,046 | Findmypast |
| Canada, Prairie Provinces Census, 1926 | 2,073,271 | FamilySearch |
| Census of the Prairie Provinces, 1926 | 2,067,393 | LAC |
| Ontario Deaths, 1869-1937 and Overseas Deaths, 1939-1947 | 2,050,112 | FamilySearch |
| Canadian Obituaries, 1997-2017 | 2,035,945 | MyHeritage |
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:
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
I would add that for Newfoundland you need to add the Grand Banks site at http://ngb.chebucto.org/.
I'm sorry for not saying this sooner -- many, many thanks for compiling this list John.
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!
Ontario, Canada, Roman Catholic Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1760-1923 is also available to browse at Family Search (not indexed).
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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