Border entries 1908 to 1935
People arriving in Canada by land were recorded in Border entries. The types of form and information collected changed over time.
On this page
- Before you start
- Search tips
- About the records
- Other places to look
- Access the records
- Related links
Before you start
Gather information such as:
- name(s)
- approximate year of birth
- country of birth
- approximate year of arrival
Search tips
- These records are not searchable by name. Instead, you will need to browse the digitized microfilm.
- Spelling variations were common before the mid-1900s. Many names were written phonetically, as they sounded to the person recording them.
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Not all immigrants crossing the border were registered (The records are only about 50% complete).
- Some crossed when ports were closed or where no port existed.
- Many families were not registered because one or both parents had been born in Canada or previously resided here, and they were considered Returning Canadians rather than immigrants.
- Many immigrants to Canada came from the United States or sailed from Europe to American ports on their way to Canada, so may not be in the border entry lists.
- The Government of Canada did not keep records of people leaving the country.
- For January to March 1925, there are sometimes Form 30 records (arriving by land) and border entry lists.
About the records
The way you access Border entries is different depending on the year.
Before 1908
Before April 1908, people were able to move freely across the border from the United States into Canada, so there are no records from this time.
1908-1918
In 1908, the government of Canada started recording people on border entry lists. These were the official record of immigration; there are no immigrant applications or files. The lists are arranged by border port and date of entry.
1919-1924
The records are arranged in alphabetical groupings based on the first letters of each name. For example, last names starting with Ada, Adc and Add are grouped together with first names beginning with A. For example: Anne Adair, Benjamin Adcock, Christopher Addison, David Adair, etc.
Some of the more common surnames, such as Smith, Adams, MacLeod and Bennett, are grouped separately.
There are 96 reels for immigrants who were accepted into the country. Only one reel for those rejected at the border was retained (T-15345). In most cases each form was microfilmed with the back side first, followed by the front.
The microfilm reels were produced by the Department of Citizenship and Immigration during the 1950s and 1960s. The originals were destroyed. The reels were transferred to LAC in 1997.
About Form 30
From January 1919 to December 31, 1924, immigrants were recorded entering Canada from or through the United States on individual forms called “Form 30”, instead of the large sheet border-entry lists previously in use.
Generally, a form was submitted for each person, including children and some returning Canadians, but sometimes children would be listed on the back of the head-of-household's form. The use of Form 30 was stopped January 1, 1925, and large sheet lists were reinstated. However, some Form 30 records appear after 1924, in particular for January, February and March of 1925.
1925-1935
Large sheet lists were re-instated in 1925. The reels are arranged by border port and date of entry.
- Border entries from this period for people with a last name that starts with the letter C, and some with the letter Z, are searcheable in Collection search.
Other places to look
- Some of our border entry records have been indexed by name on other websites. Canadian and American border entry records are searchable on Ancestry.ca (subscription required, but free at many public libraries) and FamilySearch.org (free, registration required).
- The United States National Archives and Records Administration holds records of arrivals from Canada, 1895-1954. Those records include Canadians travelling to the U.S. to visit or work.
Access the records
Most border entries records are digitized on microfilm reels. Consult About the records section for information on how to access them.
If you prefer to search the microfilms rather than digitized images, you can access them in person in our self-service section in Ottawa.