Land Records
Getting Started
This guide has had minor revisions in June 2013 and April 2014.
Historical land records in Ontario are with the Ontario government, either with the Archives of Ontario or in local land registry offices. The Archives of Ontario website has useful research guides on land records. The Toronto Public Library houses various indexes and guides to land records as well as microfilm copies of some material from the Archives of Ontario and Library and Archives Canada. The Society and Recreation Department at North York Central Library also has material related to North York.
Searching the Library website
Suggested Subject and Keywords
- Land grants [and province or township) e.g. Land grants Ontario
- Land titles [and country or province] e.g. Land titles Ontario
- Probate records [and location] e.g. Probate records Peel County
Suggested Titles
- [Grants of Crown Lands in Upper Canada, 1787 – 1798] in Seventeenth – Twentieth Report of the Archives of Ontario 1928 – 1931
Using Online Resources
OnLand Ontario Land Registry Access (new January 2018)
For early Upper Canada/Canada West records you should first consult Library and Archives Canada database that provides more than 82,000 references to names of petitioners. If you find a reference of interest to you, note the microfilm, volume, bundle and page numbers in order to easily find the digitized images of this land petition. Note: the Help link is very useful in order to find the images you want.
Land Petitions of Lower Canada Library and Archives Canada database
Canadian County Atlas Project shows landowner names as of the 1870s and 1880s in Ontario.
Ontario Crown Land Patent Plans have been digitized on the Archives of Ontario site.
In Library Resources
Ontario Archives Land Records Index 1790 – 1920
For further assistance contact:
Answerline: 416-393-7131
answerline@torontopubliclibrary.ca
Humanities and Social Sciences Department, Toronto Reference Library, 416-393-7175
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