General
Search Tools
General
Use wildcard characters to retrieve spelling variations or typographical errors. Use a question mark (?) to replace a single character or an asterisk (*) to replace more than one character.
Example. Type Wilfr?d, to get both Wilfrid and Wilfred.
Example. Type patriot*, to get results with patriote, patriots, patriotism, patriotic, patriotique, patriotisme, etc.
If you get too many results
If you need to expand your search
Top of Page
Search All enables you to search the resources of Library and Archives Canada (LAC) all at once, or you can limit your search to an individual search type.
- Library Search provides options for searching the published materials held at LAC, as well as those located in over 1,300 libraries across Canada.
- Archives Search provides options for searching descriptions of archival material in LAC holdings which includes text, photographs, icons, audio, philately, cartography, architectural documents and other materials.
- Image Search provides options for keyword searching of images in the archival holdings.
- Ancestors Search provides options for searching the most popular LAC genealogical databases, such as census, military, immigration and land records.
How to start a search
- In the search box, enter one or more words that best describe the information that you want.
- Press Enter or click the Search button.
- In response to your search, you will see a list of the most relevant results. The results include library, archives, image and ancestors search items.
The Search All Results page shows the items found by your search. The five most relevant items from each of the search types (Library, Archives, Image, Ancestors) are listed first.
For more information about an item, click its title.
To see all the items in a particular search type, click Show All. For example, clicking Show All in the Library Search shows all the Library results for your search. The results are presented with the most relevant items on top.
Library Search enables you to search for published materials held at LAC, or search for materials located in over 1,300 libraries across Canada.
What is included in Library Search
Library Search contains listings for books, magazines, newspapers, government publications, theses, sound recordings, maps, electronic texts, as well as items in braille and large print.
Library Search Results
The Library Search Results page shows the library items found by your search. For each result, you will see the title (underlined), author, birth and death dates of the author, date of publication, whether the material can be found online (if applicable), and whether the item is available from LAC or held by a contributing Canadian library.
The results are sorted to list the most relevant items at the top.
You can sort and limit your search results by using the options on the right side of the screen. For example, you can sort the results by title, and then limit the results by format, such as online.
Archives Search enables you to search descriptions of archival holdings at LAC consisting of millions of texts, photographs, icons, audio, philately, cartography, and architectural materials. It is organized by fonds, collections (which are subdivided into sous-fonds, series, sub-series, sub-sub-series, files and items) and accessions, which reflect the activities and functions of a person, family or organization.
What is included in Archives Search
The following archival research tools are searchable in Archives Search:
- General Inventory
- Government of Canada Files
- Métis Scrip
- War Diaries of the First World War
- Prime Ministers' Fonds
What is not included in Archives Search
For a list of archival research tools that are
not included in the Archives Search
and must be searched individually, see
Databases.
Archives Search Results
The Archives Search Results page shows the descriptions of archival material found by your search. For each result, you see the title, type of material, creator or provenance, dates of creation, extent, level of description, and whether the material can be found online.
The results are sorted to list the most relevant items at the top.
You can sort and limit your search results by using the options on the right side of the screen. For example, you can sort the results by title, and then limit the results by format, such as maps.
Image Search
Image Search enables you to search for digital images of archival material in the LAC's holdings. A thumbnail is displayed for each search result.
How to start a search
Enter one or more keywords into the Any Keywords field.
Optional: In the Type of Material field, select an option from the drop-down list to narrow your search.
Click the Submit button.
How to interpret the results
Each item on the Archives Image Search Result page shows:
How to view an image
Click a thumbnail to enlarge it.
A navigation toolbar is displayed at the bottom of the enlarged image.
To view the next image, select the forward arrow at the far right of the toolbar.
To view the previous image, select the back arrow at the far left of the toolbar.
To zoom in and out of the image, select the arrow at the centre of the toolbar. You can also zoom in and out by using your mouse wheel.
To close an image and return to the search results page, select the "X" button located in the top right corner of the image screen.
An archival description containing multiple images will display a thumbnail set of the first 24 images. The total number of images associated with that description will be indicated at the bottom of the image set. To view and navigate the rest of this image set, select the arrow following the text Continue viewing this series of images.
Ancestors Search
Ancestors Search enables you to search by a person's name (given name and surname) in several of the most consulted genealogical resources at the same time.
What is included in Ancestors Search
Black Loyalist Refugees (Port Roseway Associates)
Canadian Families
Canadian Naturalization 1915-1951
Census of Canada, 1871
Census of Canada, 1881
Census of Canada, 1891
Citizenship Registration Records for the Montreal Circuit Court (1851-1945)
Courts-martial of the First World War
Divorce in Canada (1841-1968)
Federal Census of 1871 (Ontario Index)
Gaspé Land Commission (1626-1841)
Home Children (1869-1930)
Immigrants at Grosse-Île (1832-1937)
Immigrants from China (1885-1949)
Immigrants from the Russian Empire (1898 and 1922)
Immigrants to Canada
Immigration Records (1925-1935)
Lower Canada Land Petitions (1626-1865)
Loyalist families (Ward Chipman, Muster Master's Office, 1777-1785)
Medals, Honours and Awards
Montreal Emigrant Society Passage Book (1832)
Names appearing on lists of marriages licences issued in Upper Canada (RG 5 B9) and Lower Canada (RG 4 B28)
North West Mounted Police (NWMP) - Personnel Records (1873-1904)
Port of New Westminster Register of Chinese Immigration (1887-1908)
Port Roseway Associates (Black Loyalist Refugees)
Railway Employees (Employees Provident Fund)
Quebec City Passenger Lists Index (1865-1900)
Royal Canadian Navy Ledger Sheets (1910-1941)
Second World War Service Files: Canadian Armed Forces War Dead
Soldiers of the First World War - CEF (1914-1918)
Soldiers of the South African War (1899-1902)
Upper and Lower Canada Marriage Bonds (1779 - 1865)
Upper Canada and Canada West Naturalization Records (1828-1850)
Upper Canada Land Board (1765-1804)
Upper Canada Land Petitions (1763-1865)
Ward Chipman, Muster Master's Office (1777-1785)
Western Land Grants (1870-1930)
What is not included in Ancestor Search
- Canadian Directories: Who was Where
- Census Microfilm Reels from 1666 to 1901
- Census of 1851 (Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia)
- Census of Canada, 1901
- Census of the Northwest Provinces, 1906
- Census of Canada, 1911
- Census of the Prairie Provinces, 1916
- Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online [www.biographi.ca]
- Métis Scrip Records
- Passenger Lists, 1865-1922
- Post Offices and Postmasters
- Project Naming
- War Diaries of the First World War
For a search other than by name, (e.g. by regimental numbers for First World War military records) you must consult the specific database accessible through the list provided on the search screens.
Ancestor Search Tools
Topics. Genealogical databases are grouped by topic. Under each of these topics, you can select a single database to search.
Wordwheel. While you are typing a name, the Wordwheel will make suggestions. You can click an item, then click the Submit button. This reduces trial-and-error searching.
Wildcard character. Use the wildcard character * to find variations of a name (e.g. Joh* for John, Johnson, Johanson, Johansen etc.).
Soundex. Soundex brings together names that sound alike e.g. Tremblay, Trombley, Trumble, and Trimble. The soundex is not automatically set. To activate the soundex, click the Exact match box.
Ancestors Search Results
The Ancestors Search Results page shows the descriptions of genealogical material found by your search. For each result, you will see the surname and given name(s) and descriptive elements (e.g. name of a spouse, a date, or an age) to help you identify your ancestors. These descriptive elements are different depending on the database.
The results are sorted to list the most relevant items at the top.
You can sort and limit your search results by using the options on the right side of the screen. For example, you can sort the results by name or date, then limit the results by format, such as online.
