Before 1862, Canadians could travel freely to and from the United States without passports. Travel to Europe required a British passport obtained at the Foreign Office in London. A non-British subject could still travel to the United States with a certificate of naturalization. The first Canadian passports were issued in 1862.
During the American Civil War the United States wanted more control over Canadians travelling across the border. Thus in 1862, the Governor General introduced a centralized system for issuing passport and from that date until 1912, a Canadian passport was in essence a Letter of Request signed by the Governor General.
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Start your Ancestry free trialNot many Canadian passports were issued in these early years. A passport cost $1.00 and in 1878, 50 passports were issued. In these early years, passports were issued as single-sheet certificates and stamped with the official seal. In 1915 Canada switched to the British form of passport, a ten-section single sheet folder printed in English only. Until 1947, two kinds of passports were issued in Canada, one for British-born citizens and one for naturalized citizens.
Read more about the history of Canadian passports
The Government of Canada did not keep copies of passport applications or passports issued to individuals. Only a few samples (169) are held at Library and Archives Canada. These 169 files were issued between 1891-1920 and are searchable online at Passports at Library and Archives Canada
Passports at Library and Archives Canada Passports issued between 1891-1920. Index of names plus dates of issue
Search Government of Canada files online (keyword “passport” then choose YES for ONLINE only)
Likacheff-Ragosine-Mathers (LI-RA-MA) Collection The Likacheff-Ragosine-Mathers collection (LI-RA-MA) contains documents created between 1898 and 1922 by the consular offices of the Russian Empire in Canada. The series on passports and identity papers is comprised of about 11,400 files on Jewish, Ukrainian and Finnish immigrants who came to Canada from the Russian Empire. The series includes passport applications and questionnaires containing general information.
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