This database contains information about immigrants who applied for citizenship in the city and district of Montréal from 1851 to 1945. The majority of the documents are from 1868 to 1916.
Search the database
- Go to
Collection Search and click on “Advanced Search”
- In “All these words,” enter a last name, with or without a first name
- Try various spellings of the name, or use the * wild card character (for example, Alex* for Alexander, Alexandre)
- In “Database,” select "Citizenship Registration, Montreal Circuit Court (1851-1945)"
- In “Date,” enter a year of birth or a range of years (optional)
- In “Birth country,” leave the option at "All," or select from the drop-down menu
- Click the "Search" button
Search tips
- If the person anglicized their name, try searching by the original name, then by the anglicized name
- In "Birth country,” try leaving the option at "All," as the country of birth may not have been recorded
Access the records
All of the files are digitized in the database.
About the records
These 8,437 files were created by the Circuit Court office in Montréal about people who applied for citizenship. Some files are for people who were born in Canada or Great Britain and became American citizens.
Before the Canadian Citizenship Act came into force on January 1, 1947, people born in Canada were British subjects. Immigrants born in Great Britain and the Commonwealth were already British subjects and did not need to apply for citizenship in Canada.
The archival reference is RG6 F3, volumes 876 to 958.
The files usually provide these details:
- name, age and place of birth
- occupation
- former and present place of residence
- number of years residing in Canada
Most of the files include these documents:
- petition to be naturalized as a British subject
- oath of residence and oath of allegiance
- certificate confirming the oaths were taken
Related resources
Naturalization lists, 1915 to 1951