Free Sources for Atlantic Canada Census Returns
Updated: November 23, 2017
Notes about the census records.
History of the Census of Canada: Contained on Statistics Canada website.
Canada Census Database: A list of past census records and links to view them are found on Library and Archives Canada’s website.
Prince Edward Island: Prince Edward Island Censuses currently available are for years 1728 to 1911. Some records are not complete. Census records for 1752 and 1798 are available in printed form at the Public Archives and Records Office as are microfilm copies of the 1841, 1848, 1861, 1881, 1891 and 1901 manuscript censuses. Printed booklets for each Lot covered by the 1881, 1891 and 1901 censuses, prepared by the PEI Genealogical Society, are also available for viewing at the Archives. The Public Archives and Records Office also has on-line search capabilities for the 1841, 1881, 1891 and 1901 census at Census Documents Data Search.
Links to Census Records Grouped by Year
1945 Census – Newfoundland and Labrador only
Newfoundland and Labrador
1945 Census: Contained on Newfoundland’s Grand Banks Genealogical and Historical Data website (http://ngb.chebucto.org/index.html).
1935 Census – Newfoundland and Labrador only
Newfoundland and Labrador
1935 Census: Contained on Newfoundland’s Grand Banks Genealogical and Historical Data website (http://ngb.chebucto.org/index.html).
1931 (National Census)
Released 2023
1926 (special census for Prairie provinces)
Released 2018
1921 (official census day for Canada: June 1, 1921)
For all of Canada, except Newfoundland: Delivery from Statistics Canada to Library and Archives Canada is complete. The digital images for this census are now available for free here.
Newfoundland
1921 Census: Contained on Newfoundland’s Grand Banks Genealogical and Historical Data website (http://ngb.chebucto.org/index.html).
New Brunswick
Parish of St. Croix: Located on the St. Croix Rootsweb page.
Nova Scotia
Liscomb, Liscomb Mills, Little Liscomb, Spanish Ship Bay: These communities in Guysborough County are located on this site in the 1921 Census section.
1911 (official census day: June 1, 1911)
Atlantic Canada
1911 Census: Automated Genealogy contains a searchable database with links to digital images of the completed census forms. This census covers all of Canada.
1901 (official census day: March 31, 1901)
Atlantic Canada
1901 Census: Automated Genealogy contains a searchable database with links to digital images of the completed census forms. This census covers all of Canada
Nova Scotia
1901 Census for Sydney Mines, Cape Breton County, NS (Part 1): Census Data available for downloading from The Nova Scotia GenWeb site (http://www.rootsweb.com/~canns/).
1901 Census for Sydney Mines, Cape Breton County, NS (Part 2): Census Data available for downloading from The Nova Scotia GenWeb site (http://www.rootsweb.com/~canns/).
1901 Census for Colchester County, NS: Part of The Nova Scotia Genealogy Network Association website (http://nsgna.ednet.ns.ca//index.html). The data in these files was transcribed by Don Lewis of Ottawa.
1901 Census for Cumberland County, NS: Part of The Nova Scotia Genealogy Network Association website (http://nsgna.ednet.ns.ca//index.html). The data in these files was transcribed by Don Lewis of Ottawa.
1891 (official census day: April 6, 1891)
Nova Scotia
1891 Census Mi’kmaq in Nova Scotia: Contained on the Cape Breton University website (http://mrc.uccb.ns.ca).
1891 Census for Antigonish County, NS: Census Data available for downloading from The Nova Scotia GenWeb site (http://www.rootsweb.com/~canns/).
1891 Census for Sydney Mines, Cape Breton County, NS (Part 1): Census Data available for downloading from The Nova Scotia GenWeb site (http://www.rootsweb.com/~canns/).
1891 Census for Sydney Mines, Cape Breton County, NS (Part 2): Census Data available for downloading from The Nova Scotia GenWeb site (http://www.rootsweb.com/~canns/).
1891 Census for Colchester County, NS: Part of The Nova Scotia Genealogy Network Association website (http://nsgna.ednet.ns.ca//index.html). The data in these files was transcribed by Don Lewis of Ottawa.
1891 Census for Cumberland County, NS: Part of The Nova Scotia Genealogy Network Association website (http://nsgna.ednet.ns.ca//index.html). The data in these files was transcribed by Don Lewis of Ottawa.
1891 Census for Smith’s Cove, Halifax County, NS: John Cordes transcribed this record.
1891 Census for Inverness County, NS: Census Data available for downloading from The Nova Scotia GenWeb site (http://www.rootsweb.com/~canns/).
1891 Census for Petit-de-Grat, Richmond County, NS: Part of the Cape Breton Counties Genealogy website (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nscpbret/cbgenwb.html).
1881 (official census day: April 4, 1881)
Atlantic Canada
1881 Census: Library and Archives website: A searchable database on with links to digital images of the completed census forms. This census covers all of Canada. You can also learn how the census was collected and how to interpret the column headings and abbreviations.
Nova Scotia
1881 Census Mi’kmaq in Nova Scotia: Contained on the Cape Breton University website (http://mrc.uccb.ns.ca).
1881 Census for Colchester County, NS: Part of The Nova Scotia Genealogy Network Association website (http://nsgna.ednet.ns.ca//index.html). The data in these files was transcribed by Don Lewis of Ottawa.
1881 Census for Cumberland County, NS: Part of The Nova Scotia Genealogy Network Association website (http://nsgna.ednet.ns.ca//index.html). The data in these files was transcribed by Don Lewis of Ottawa.
1881 Census for Inverness County, NS: Census Data available for downloading from The Nova Scotia GenWeb site (http://www.rootsweb.com/~canns/).
1881 Census for Boularderie, Victoria County, NS: Census Data available for downloading from The Nova Scotia GenWeb site (http://www.rootsweb.com/~canns/).
1871 (official census day: April 2, 1871)
New Brunswick
1871 Census St. David Parish, Charlotte County, NB: Transcribed index includes approximately 1880 names. Part of the St. David Parish website: http://www.rootsweb.com/~nbstdavi/
Nova Scotia
1871 Census Mi’kmaq in Nova Scotia: Contained on the Cape Breton University website (http://mrc.uccb.ns.ca).
1871 Census for Sydney Mines, Cape Breton County, NS: Census Data available for downloading from The Nova Scotia GenWeb site (http://www.rootsweb.com/~canns/).
1871 Census for Colchester County, NS: Part of The Nova Scotia Genealogy Network Association website (http://nsgna.ednet.ns.ca//index.html). The data in these files was transcribed by Don Lewis of Ottawa.
1871 Census for Cumberland County, NS: Part of The Nova Scotia Genealogy Network Association website (http://nsgna.ednet.ns.ca//index.html). The data in these files was transcribed by Don Lewis of Ottawa.
1871 Census for Halifax East, Halifax County, NS: Census Data available for downloading from The Nova Scotia GenWeb site (http://www.rootsweb.com/~canns/).
1871 Census for Cape Sable Island, Shelburne County, NS: Census Data available for downloading from The Nova Scotia GenWeb site (http://www.rootsweb.com/~canns/).
1871 Census for Red Islands, Richmond County, NS: Census Data available for downloading from The Nova Scotia GenWeb site (http://www.rootsweb.com/~canns/).
1863
Prince Edward Island
1863 Lake Map Of Prince Edward Island: Click on a lot on the map to see who lived there. The writing on the map can be difficult to read. The census is located on the Island Register website.
1861 (official census day: January 14, 1861)
Prince Edward Island
1861 Population Census Count of Prince Edward Island: Names are not listed, just the population for each area. The census is located on the Island Register website.
1851 (official census day: January 12, 1852)
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia
1851 Census: The records that survive include New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Canada East (Quebec) and Canada West (Ontario). The images have been scanned and are available in PDF on the Library and Archives of Canada website and is searchable by geographic location only.
New Brunswick
1851 Census St. David Parish, Charlotte County, NB: Transcribed index of head of households, some wives and some boarders. Part of the St. David Parish website: http://www.rootsweb.com/~nbstdavi/
1848
Prince Edward Island
1848 Prince Edward Island Lot 31 Census: The census is located on the Island Register website.
1841
Prince Edward Island
1841 Prince Edward Island Lot 34 Census: Info transcribed from PEI 1841 Census of Lot 34. National Archives of Canada film # M-896. The census is located on the Island Register website.
1838
Nova Scotia
1838 Census: On this website, the 1838 Census Records for Nova Scotia include several counties, but they are not complete for the entire province. The counties are Guysborough, Halifax, Lunenburg, Queens and Yarmouth.
1838 Census for Nova Scotia: Census Data available for downloading from The Nova Scotia GenWeb site (http://www.rootsweb.com/~canns/).
1817
Nova Scotia
1817 Census for Nova Scotia (Partial): Census Data available for downloading from The Nova Scotia GenWeb site (http://www.rootsweb.com/~canns/).
1798
Prince Edward Island
1798 Island of St. John Heads of Household Census: Prince Edward Island was known as Island of St. John in 1798. In 1799, in honour of Edward, Duke of Kent, it was renamed Prince Edward Island. The census is located on the Island Register website.
1770
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
1770 Nova Scotia, includes present day New Brunswick: The census was taken in the following years: 1770, 1773, 1775, 1787. For example, Amherst was counted in 1770, Yarmouth 1773, Conway in 1775, and Queens County in 1787. However, the majority of the areas were done in 1770. Other areas counted were Annapolis, Barrington, Cumberland, Falmouth, Granville, Hillsborough, Horton, New Dublin, Onslow, Donegall/Pictou, Sackville, Truro and Pictou. This census record is found on the Nova Scotia GenWeb Project (http://www.rootsweb.com/~canns/).
1768
Prince Edward Island
1768 St. John’s Island Heads of Household Census: In 1768 Lt. Governor Francklyn of Nova Scotia ordered the Island of St. John’s first Census, which was dispatched to the Lord Hillsborough. It shows P.E.I.’s first English speaking Settlers as of July 31 of that year. The census is located on the Island Register website.
1752
Prince Edward Island
1752 Census Sieur de la Roque for Prince Edward Island/Ile Saint Jean: The census is located on the Island Register website.
1734
Prince Edward Island
1734 Acadian Census for Ile St. Jean/Prince Edward Island: The French Government in Louisburg, commissioned a number of censuses of the French settlements on Ile St. Jean (Prince Edward Island) during the pre-English years of the Island. Copies of these censuses are located in the Smith-Alley Collection at the P.E.I. Public Archives and Records Office, Accession 2702/670. This census was one taken of the residents of Ile St. Jean for the year of 1734. There is also a “Rolle des Habitants” for this year, which I will put on at a later date. The census is located on the Island Register website.
1730
Prince Edward Island
1730 Acadian Census for Ile St. Jean/Prince Edward Island: The French Government in Louisburg, commissioned a number of censuses of the French settlements on Ile St. Jean (Prince Edward Island) during the pre-English years of the Island. Copies of these censuses are located in the Smith-Alley Collection at the P.E.I. Public Archives and Records Office, Accession 2702/670. This census was one taken of the residents of Ile St. Jean for the year of 1730. The census is located on the Island Register website.
1728
Prince Edward Island
1728 Acadian Census for Ile St. Jean/Prince Edward Island: The French Government in Louisburg, commissioned a number of censuses of the French settlements on Ile St. Jean (Prince Edward Island) during the pre-English years of the Island. Copies of these censuses are located in the Smith-Alley Collection at the P.E.I. Public Archives and Records Office, Accession 2702/670. This census was one taken of the residents of Ile St. Jean for the year of 1728. The census is located on the Island Register website.
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