Border EntryMany immigrants to Canada came from the United States or sailed from Europe to American ports on their way to Canada. Prior to April 1908, people were able to move freely across the border from the United States into Canada; no record of immigration exists for those individuals. Important Note Not all immigrants crossing the border were registered. Some crossed when the ports were closed or where no port existed. Many families were not registered because one or both parents had been born in Canada or previously resided here, and they were considered Returning Canadians rather than immigrants. The Government of Canada did not keep records of people leaving the country. Terminology and Abbreviations Research at Library and Archives CanadaBorder entry lists (RG 76) were the official record of immigration; there are no immigrant applications or files. These records contain genealogical information about each immigrant such as age, country of birth, last place of residence, occupation and destination in Canada. About the Records1908-1918 The lists are arranged by border port and date of entry. If you do not know those details, you must search these unindexed lists port by port and month by month for the appropriate region. List of Ports, Dates and Microfilm Reel Numbers, 1908-1918 1919-1924 From January 1919 to the end of 1924, individual forms (Form 30) were used to record immigrants entering Canada from or via the United States. This series also includes a few forms from later years. 1925-1935 In 1925, the use of border entry lists was reinstated. For each month, the records for all ports are filed together. These records contain more details, such as:
A series of old nominal indexes exists for the years 1925-1935. Since the indexes include post-1935 entries, which are closed under the Privacy Act, the public cannot consult them. Entries for surnames starting with C were input into our Immigration Records (1925-1935) database. For other surnames, our staff will undertake searches in the indexes, if sufficient identifying details, including year of entry, are provided. Note that the records for January to March 1925 are not indexed; however, individual Form 30 records are available for those months in addition to the border entry lists by port. List of Dates and Microfilm Reel Numbers, 1925-1935
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