Top Seven Free Canadian Genealogy Sites

In keeping with the number 7, as in my 7th blogiversary I celebrated yesterday at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/genealogycanada-is-now-seven-years-old.html, the sevens continue on today ...

... so (and not in any particular order) here are my Top Seven FREE Canadian Genealogy Sites:

Library and Archives Canada – In addition to having the census online, they are publishing the service files of the Soldiers of the First World War: 1914-1918 at http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/first-world-war-1914-1918-cef/Pages/canadian-expeditionary-force.aspx.

They also have Facebook, Twitter, as well as announcements on their website about their collections, upcoming events, and news on the release of digital material.
 

Héritage – You can also go to the Héritage Site at http://heritage.canadiana.ca/?usrlang=en to see many digitized images of records and other fonds that have been published online over the past year. The one big drawback is that they aren’t currently indexed, but if you have plenty of time, it may be well-worth your effort to browse the site. I've been lucky enough to find some interesting material here.

Nova Scotia Archives – This site has come a long way since it first appeared online, and they keep adding to it.

They are most famously known for the Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics at https://www.novascotiagenealogy.com/.

To see what they have in the Virtual Archives site, go to http://novascotia.ca/archives/virtual/

The Alberta Family Histories Society and the Alberta Genealogical Society – Both societies have free databases that you can search.

The AFHS at http://www.afhs.ab.ca/ has a cemetery and BMD databases, and the AGS http://www.abgenealogy.ca/ has the 1885‒1897 Applications for Alberta Land Patents, 1870‒1930 Alberta Homestead Records, and the Post‒1930 Alberta Homestead Records.
 

FamilySearch – Canada and the provinces and territories have resources that you might find helpful and they are free at https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Canada.

Be sure to check the catalogue, as they are starting to put scanned books onsite.

The Prince Edward Island Public Archives and Records Office – They have a free database of such records as vital statistics records (including the former P.E.I. Baptismal Index), census records, and material from their archival collections, including photographs, maps, architectural plans, and textual records.

The database is at http://www.gov.pe.ca/archives/parosearch/index/index

And, of course, if you haven’t been following my weekly Canadian Week in Review (CWR) blog posts published every Monday morning http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2014/12/canadian-week-in-review-29-december-2014.html over the past three years, maybe you should. It provides a weekly review of the news stories on Canadian genealogy, heritage, and history.

You can sign up to receive it your mailbox, FREE of charge, and it’s a good way to keep up-to-date with what’s happening in Canada.