Canada Gazette

This Canadian newspaper covers many decades of information about Canada, most often referred to as the Canadian’s government’s official paper. The Library and Archives of Canada has now made searching online this historical newspaper very simple.

The database covers from 1841 to 1997, quite a length of time. It can be searched using a key word or words. To assist and narrow the selections, in the search you can also select a time frame. For example placing the surname ‘Kershaw’ and a time frame of 1847 to 1946, it produced 40 different articles ranging from 1894 to 1970. You can select to view the paper in GIF or PDF format.

If you see an items with a time period during any of the war that Canadians assisted in, such as World War I (1914-1918) there will be many names listed and their regiments, very helpful information. Also a good source in newspapers are legal notices, bankruptcy and announcements such as weddings and births. There are arrows to go forward on a certain page or to the previous page to view what else was in that portion of the paper. To view another selection click on ‘return to results’.

It is not limited to just one province, but does cover all of them in Canada. There is information on what the legislature and prime minister along with other governmental bodies in Canada plan on doing or have enacted for the public. Also good to use it for are any national or world events. The beginning of a war, gold strikes, death of a world leader, etc would be covered in the Gazette.

If you had ancestors in Canada during the last half of the 19th century, into most of the 20th century, you should review this database for any hidden treasures. There are not big pages filled with advertisements, but rather the recording of real events for Canada.

Photo: The front page banner head of the Canada Gazette from January 25, 1868.