Medical Personnel

Research at Library and Archives Canada

If a doctor or other medical worker donated their personal papers to Library and Archives Canada, the collection will be described in the General Inventory database. Select Private Records.

Keywords: name

Library and Archives Canada also holds the following series relating to medical licences and applications made before 1867.

Medical Board Certificates and Reports, Upper Canada (Ontario), 1819-1854 (RG 5 B9)

These records have been indexed by name and are included in the General Index card catalogue, available onsite and on microfilm.

General Index: List of Microfilm Reel Numbers

Quebec, Lower Canada, Canada East: Applications for Medical Licences, 1788-1848 (RG 4 B28)

These records are arranged by date; they are not indexed by name. They are available on the following two microfilm reels:

Register of Medical Licences Issued, Upper and Lower Canada (Ontario and Quebec), 1819-1867 (RG 68)

This register indicates only names and the date of licences issued. The register is arranged by surname and is available on microfilm reel C-3947. When searching that reel, you will find the register between Liber KS and Liber MH.

Registers of Licences for Surgery and Midwifery, Canada West (Ontario), 1866-1867 (RG 68)

Copies of licences issued for the practice of physic surgery and midwifery. Each certificate includes name, date and place (Liber Canada LT, 39 pp., microfilm reel C-3908).

Register of Coroners of Upper Canada (Ontario), 1800-1867 (RG 68)

Commissions granted to coroners, which indicate name, date and place. At the front of each register there is an index arranged geographically by county and city (1800-1866, Liber Canada HR, 192 pp.; 1866-1867, Liber Canada AD-LE, 61 pp.; microfilm reel C-3908).

Research in Other Institutions

Guide to Canadian Nursing Archival Resources [www.cahn-achn.ca/resources.htm]
Comprehensive guide to records in the custody of archives, associations, museums, hospitals and nursing schools.

Research Online

Canadian Health Obituaries [www.health.library.mcgill.ca/osler/cfstand/chobit.htm]
This database, created by The Osler Library at McGill University, serves as an index, citing the medical journal in which an actual obituary was published. The medical journals indexed include entries as early as 1833. If you find a reference in the database, contact your local library to find out how to borrow the relevant medical journal from a library that holds copies.

Munks Roll [www.rcplondon.ac.uk/scripts/munk_index.asp]
Some Canadian doctors may have trained in the United Kingdom before immigrating to Canada. Their names might be found in the publication called Munks Roll. The Royal College of Physicians in London, England, provides an online index for Munks Roll, which covers obituaries for the years 1518 to the present.

Research in Published Sources

Consult our Bibliography for further information on this topic.

Research in Provincial Sources

Each province and territory has self-regulatory bodies established by legislation to regulate and license physicians and nurses. Some of these boards and colleges have transferred their older records to the relevant Provincial or Territorial Archives. To inquire about more recent records, please contact the relevant office for each province and territory.

Related Topics

Military