Research guides: Canadian government information: Historical

General

The Government Publications Collection on the 5th floor of Robarts Library is largely a post-Confederation collection. However it does hold some pre-Confederation materials in reprint or microform editions. Please search the library catalogue for government information at all U of T libraries by title or government body.

Check also:

Sessional Papers of Canada
- Sessional Papers are a collected series of reports, documents and papers tabled in the House or Senate
- Included are Annual Reports of Departments, Boards and Crown Corporations, Government Estimates and Public Accounts, Royal Commission and Task Force Reports, Election Returns, Government responses to Committee Reports, papers dealing with Government policies and written responses to questions asked in the House and Senate
- 1867-1900 (Canadiana Online)
- 1901-1925:
  - Sessional Papers by title, click "More" under "Topics and Subjects" to browse list of serial titles
  - Sessional Papers by volume
- 1867-1925 in print
Canadiana Online (for early official publications)
- Pre-1901, primary from the 19th century
- colonial and federal government publications includes a selection of official documents from France and Great Britain that relate to the governance of Canada
- pre-1867 materials from British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland
- 1867-1900: only federal government materials
- Municipal publications are not included
- A collection of the acts passed in the Parliament of Great Britain and of other public acts relative to Canada
British Parliamentary Papers
- Click to "Find Terms", select "dominions and colonies", select "Canada and Newfoundland" for the 19th century collection
Canadian Government Publications Portal (for materials digitized at the Internet Archive)
Bora Laskin Law Library (for older Canadian legislation)
Héritage (CRKN)
- Archival collections of primary-source documents from 1600s to the mid-1900s.
- Government Documents

Aboriginal Affairs

Canada Gazette

Canada Gazette : the official newspaper of the Government of Canada
- current
- 1841- 1998

Constitutional materials

Constitutional materials (LLMC Digital)

Debates and other parliamentary materials

Canadian Parliamentary Historical Resources Portal (Library of Parliament and Canadian Research Knowledge Network)
- Includes all bills, debates, journals and committee documentation of the Senate and the House of Commons from the 1st Session of the 1st Parliament (1867) until coverage at www.parl.ca begins
- Historical sessional papers are also available from 1867 to 1901
Pre-confederation Parliamentary materials
- Includes provincial materials
LiPaD: The Linked Parliamentary Data Project (University of Toronto)
- Fully searchable Debates of the House of Commons from 1901 - present
- Advanced search: full text, speaker names, parties, and speech topics
- Explore Timeline
- Data

Digital Collections

Education

Education (Ontario)
- Ontario Government Education Documents and Curricula
- Trillium list (2015+)
- Physical and Health Education (I-29) (1898 - 1993, incomplete)
- Circular 14 (1887 -1996, incomplete)

Elections

History of the Federal Electoral Ridings (1867 - 2010)
- Includes names of candidates for all the federal elections as well as descriptions of ridings
- Searchable by riding name, candidate name, political party, general election, and by-election
- Riding descriptions are full-text searchable
Voting Registers (Early Canadiana Online)

Finance & annual reports

Government Finance
- Includes budget (1875+), estimates (1872/23+), public accounts (1877/78+), and annual reports (1867+)

Foreign & global affairs

Foreign Affairs Documents
- Documents on Canadian external relations 1908+
- Full-text primary source, declassified on the "thirty-years rule"
Global Affairs Canada
- Statements and Speeches (1948 - 1995)
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada: A History in Documents 1909 -2009

Judicial materials

Judicial materials (LLMC Digital, online)

Military

Canadian Military History Gateway
Military Heritage (Library and Archives Canada)
- Contains records relating to Loyalists, the War of 1812, the Rebellions, the South African War, and the First and Second World Wars
Quarterly militia list of the Dominion of Canada, 1899 -1977 (Canadiana online)
Report of the Militia Council and Department of Militia and Defence, 1901-1923 (Sessional Papers)
Military History (Heritage CRKN)
A history of the organization, development and services of the military and naval forces of Canada from the Peace of Paris in 1763, to the present time. (with illustrative documents)
- v. 1. The local forces of New France; The Militia of the Province of Quebec, 1763-1775.
- v. 2. The war of the American Revolution: The province of Quebec under the administration of Governor Sir Guy Carleton, 1775-1778.
- v. 3. The war of the American Revolution; The province of Quebec under the administration of Governor Frederic Haldimand, 1778-1784

Royal commissions

Royal Commissions Research Guide
- also known as Commissions of Inquiry, are appointed by Cabinet to inquire into and report on matters of national significance
- findings are reported to the Prime Minister and Cabinet and issued as an official report
- Index to Federal Royal Commissions: Search Aurora (see Search Aurora by sub-collection)
- Commissions of Inquiry Online: full text of current Royal Commissions
- search the library catalogue for a copy of the Royal Commission report
- Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples
- Final report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Non-medical Use of Drugs (1973)

Statistics

Statistics Canada
- Historical statistics
Map and Data Library (University of Toronto)
- The Map and Data Library owns and subscribes to many surveys and datasets. Some resources may have a cost associated with them.
Historical Statistics of Canada (1867 - 1977)
Canada Year Book Historical Collection (1867 - 1967)
Censuses of Canada, 1665 - 1871 (Queens University Library)
University of Toronto iSchool Government Information Projects Dataverse
- immigration statistics in the Sessional Papers 1869-1894
- census of Canada Report Locator 1851-1951
Gross national product, Canada, 1870 - 1926: the derivation of estimates

Throne speeches

Throne Speeches
- 1867 to present
- The Speech from the Throne officially opens every new session of Parliament. The speech sets out the broad goals and directions of the government and its strategy to accomplish those goals.

Treaties

Canada Treaty Information (Global Affairs Canada)
Canadian Treaty Series (WorldLII)
- From 1812 onwards, some are full-text

Urban history

Municipal: Historical Resources

Web archives

Government of Canada web archive
- 2005 -2007, 2013+
- 2007 - 2013
Provincial and municipal archives
RCMP Internal Audit and Evaluation Reports (Wayback machine)
The Atlas of Canada (Wayback machine)

Women

The Widening Sphere: Women in Canada 1870-1940

Research Guides

Canadian government information