Terminology and Abbreviations

This list includes abbreviations found in immigration records, such as passenger lists, and terminology relating to immigration.

Numbers found on immigration records might refer to a train ticket number, a passport number or an obsolete file number.

Alien:

A person who was not a British subject or a Canadian citizen.

BICA:

British Immigration and Colonization Association.

Boys Training Scheme (1927):

A cooperative arrangement between the federal and provincial governments to bring older British boys to Canada and train them for farm work for eventual placement with local farmers.

British Bonus:

A commission paid by the Canadian government's Immigration Branch to steamship booking agents in the United Kingdom for each suitable immigrant who purchased a ticket to sail to Canada. The immigrants themselves did not receive a bonus.

CA:

Church Army.

C of E (C of ES):

Church of England.

CEA:

Catholic Emigration Association.

CGEA:

Canadian Government Employment Agent.
These agents received commissions from the government for placing newly arrived immigrants with employers who were seeking labourers or domestics.

CJWOC:

Canadian Jewish War Orphans Committee.

CPR:

Canadian Pacific Railway.
In addition to transporting immigrants by sea and rail, the CPR also established its own Department of Colonization and Development in 1916, designed to promote the settlement of unoccupied lands in the West held by speculators and farmers.

Continental Bonus:

A commission paid by the Canadian government's Immigration Branch to steamship booking agents in European countries for each suitable immigrant who purchased a ticket to sail to Canada. The immigrants themselves did not receive a bonus.

Domestics:

Young women trained in Britain to work as domestic help overseas. In Canada, the reception and aftercare of women immigrants was undertaken by various groups, including the following:

Canadian Council of Immigration of Women for Household Service
YWCA
Girls' Friendly Society
Divers Women's Institutes
Salvation Army/Armée du Salut
Catholic Women's League

The provincial governments of Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta also contributed towards the cost of passage for trainee domestics.

Empire Settlement Act (ESA):

Under the Empire Settlement Act of 1922, the Canadian government offered assisted passage to young men and women, in the form of loans and reduced fares, to encourage the immigration of farm labourers and domestic workers.

GTR:

Grand Trunk Railway.

Harvester:

British labourers recruited to assist Canadian farmers with harvesting the prairie wheat crop in 1923.

IMM 1000:

An individual Record of Landing document in use from 1952 to 2003.

Immigrant:

In 1911, an immigrant was defined as a person entering Canada with the intention of acquiring Canadian domicile.

Landed Immigrant:

A person who has been legally admitted to Canada for permanent residence.

NABC:

National Association of Boys Clubs.

Nat. :

Naturalized

North Atlantic Trading Company (NATC):

A company contracted to find suitable immigrants, 1899-1910.

NCHO:

National Children's Home and Orphanage.

Overseas Settlement Committee (OSC):

The British government body that dealt with Empire migration dating from 1919.

Passenger List/Passenger Manifest:

List of names of passengers on board a ship. Starting in 1865, preprinted forms were provided by federal immigration authorities to the shipping companies. The ship's purser filled in the names and relevant details of the passengers before they disembarked at the port of arrival.

Permanent Resident Card:

Proof of permanent residence status, effective 2004.

Ret'd Canadian:

Canadian: A returning Canadian resident.

Rejected:

Permission refused by an immigration official for an individual to enter Canada.

Remittance Man:

A young British immigrant to Canada, usually a family's second son, who received a remittance or allowance from his family.

3000 Families Scheme (1925-1928):

Under the terms of the Empire Settlement Act, the Canadian government made land available to British immigrant farmers, while the British government advanced settlers funds for stock and equipment. This program was expanded in later years.

SA:

Salvation Army.

SPCK:

The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

Transmigrant Under Bond:

This phrase was often stamped by British immigration officials on the passports of passengers who disembarked from European vessels and boarded trans-Atlantic ships in British ports. The bond likely refers to the guarantee between the shipping companies and the British government that the transmigrants were not remaining in Great Britain.

UC of C:

United Church of Canada.

VDCK:

Volksverein Deutsch-Kanadischer Katholiken/Volksverein Deutsch-Canadischer Katholiken.
A church-affiliated association that assisted Russian-German immigrants.