Nova Scotia Emigration and Immigration

Online Resources

 * The Old United Empire Loyalists List, index
 * A List of passengers landing in ships in the Maritime provinces


 * 1865-1922 - Passenger Lists, 1865-1922 Index and images. Library and Archives Canada
 * 1881-1922 -, index and images.
 * 1895-1956 - United States Border Crossings from Canada to United States, 1895-1956, index.
 * 1895-1954 - Vermont, St. Albans Canadian Border Crossings, 1895-1954, index and images.
 * 1895-1924 - Vermont, Passenger Lists, 1895-1924
 * 1900-1922, 1925-1935 - Ships' passenger lists for Canada, 1900-1922, 1925-1935
 * 1908-1918 - Border Entry, 1908-1918, images.
 * 1919-1924 - Border Entry, Form 30, 1919-1924, images
 * 1919-1924 - Immigration Form 30A, ocean arrivals, 1919-1924, index and images.
 * 1923-1933 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1925-1935 - Passenger Lists and Border Entries, 1925-1935 - Nominal Indexes, Library and Archives Canada
 * 1925-1935 - Border Entry, 1925-1935, images

Ancestry.com ($)
Records at Ancestry.com may be used free-of-charge at a 'Family History Center near you.
 * 1904-1954 - U.S., Records of Aliens Pre-Examined in Canada, 1904-1954, index and images ($).
 * 1912-1939, 1953-1962 - U.S., Passenger and Crew Lists for U.S. Bound Vessels Arriving in Canada, 1912-1939 and 1953-1962, index and images ($).
 * 1783 - Nova Scotia, Canada, Book of Negroes, 1783, index ($).
 * Nova Scotia Immigrants to 1867, Vol. I, index and images ($).
 * The Old United Empire Loyalists List, index ($).
 * Nova Scotia Immigrants to 1867, Vol. II, index and images ($).

Introduction
Passenger lists before 1881 for Nova Scotia are practically nonexistent; however, the Public Archives of Nova Scotia does have a few scattered lists for ships arriving from Great Britain (no more than 30). These cover many of the years between 1749 and 1864. There is one list for ships arriving from France in 1636. Two valuable indexes for this early period are:


 * Smith, Leonard H. Nova Scotia Immigrants to 1867. 2 vols. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1992–1994. (Family History Library )
 * Norton, Judith A.New England Planters in the Maritime Provinces of Canada, 1759–1800: Bibliography of Primary Sources. Toronto; Buffalo [N.Y.]: University of Toronto Press in association with Planters Studies Center, Acadia University, 1993. (Family History Library )

The passenger lists from 1881 to 1900 for ships arriving at Halifax are available on microfilm at the Public Archives of Nova Scotia, the Family History Library, or local family history centers (on 12 Family History Library ). Many arriving passengers are also mentioned in Halifax newspapers.

British Naval Office Shipping Lists, 1678-1825, have been digitized by British Online Archives (site requires subscription). Names of passengers are not included.

Canadian Border Crossing Records
The United States kept records of people crossing the border from Canada to the United States. These records are called border crossing lists, passenger lists, or manifests. There are two kinds of manifests:


 * Manifests of people sailing from Canada to the United States.
 * Manifests of people traveling by train from Canada to the United States.

In 1895, Canadian shipping companies agreed to make manifests of passengers traveling to the United States. The Canadian government allowed U.S. immigration officials to inspect those passengers while they were still in Canada. The U.S. immigration officials also inspected train passengers traveling from Canada to the United States. The U.S. officials worked at Canadian seaports and major cities like Québec and Winnipeg. The manifests from every seaport and emigration station in Canada were sent to St. Albans, Vermont.