Before you visit an archives, check the online catalogue to make sure that the archives holds items of interest.
Library and Archives Canada is our national archives. It contains records of historical people, places and events. It is also located only minutes away from the University of Ottawa's downtown campus, at 395 Wellington Street.
Other local archives include:
Canadiana Online - More than 3,000 books and pamphlets documenting Canadian history from the first European contact to the late 19th century.
Library and Archives Canada - publications, archival records, sound and audio-visual materials, photographs and art.
Héritage - Chronicling the country and its people from the 1600s to the mid-1900s, this collection represents a vast and unique resource for Canadian historians, students, and genealogists.
Canadian Archival Information Network - access to the holdings of Canadian archival institutions.
Canada Year Book - historical data from Statistics Canada's annual Canada Year Book. Includes documents, maps, charts and photos from 1867-1967.
Canada in Records from Colonial Missionaries, 1722-1952 - This collection includes letters compiled by the United Society Partners in Gospel's Canadian branch during the period 1722-1952. The documents detail the day-to-day activities of SPG missionaries, including their work in churches, schools, and Indigenous communities.
Champlain Society Through its books and Digital Collection, its blog and its podcasts, the Champlain Society makes the adventures, explorations, discoveries, and opinions that have shaped Canada available to all who have an interest in its past.
Colonial Despatches The exchange of despatches between the governor and the home government in London constitute a most important source of primary information about the colonization of British Columbia. Includes despatches to London, Public Offices and Correspondance.
France in America - digital library exploring the French presence in North America from the 16th to the end of the 19th century. From the Library of Congress.
Canadian Letters and Images Project - letters and images of Canada at war.
Our Future Our Past - digitized collection of newspapers and local histories outlining Alberta's history. From the University of Calgary.
Peel's Prairie Provinces - bibliography, pamphlets and other materials.
Digitized British Admiralty Charts of Canadian waters The 3,400 documents, which cover a 150-year period ending in the mid-20th century, represent the largest historical description of Canada's three major oceans and the inland waters of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River.