Canadian History

Key Resources

America History and Life

Covers Canada and the United States.

Canadian Business & Current Affairs Database

A Canadian reference resource made up of scholarly journals, trade publications, books, newspapers, and magazines.

CPI.Q

Contains citations to Canadian English and French language journals.

Érudit

Covers mainly French language articles but some in English

Start your research

Pick a research topic

Read your assignment instructions carefully
Pick a research topic that interests you and meets the assignment criteria
Identify the key concepts of your research topic

If you need help:

Use Choosing an essay topic
Do some background reading on your topic using Wikipedia, and watch the Using Wikipedia wisely video
Read Developing strong research questions

Use guides, dictionaries, and encyclopedias to find authoritative definitions, and useful bibliographies.

Canadian Encyclopedia
Canadiana (contains all 'Early Canadiana' content)
Canadian Journal of Native Studies
Canadian Residential School and Colonial Institutions Database 1620 - present
Encyclopedia of Canada's peoples (print only)
Historica.ca
Historical dictionary of Canada (print only)
Indigenous writes : a guide to First Nations, Métis, & Inuit issues in Canada
Place names of Canada

Finding Books, Journal Articles and Dissertations

Begin with Omni the library's main search box to find books or peer-reviewed journal articles on any topic.

How to find books using Omni
How to find journal articles using Omni Remember to refine your search by selecting the following options: Peer-Reviewed Journals, Articles and Subject (optional)
For more help, use Omni Search Tips

Search subject-specific databases to find journal articles. They offer many advanced search features and search results are more precise, with fewer references to browse.

Key Databases:

America History and Life (covers Canada and the US)
CPI.Q
Canadian Business & Current Affairs Database (CBCA)
Érudit (covers mainly French language articles but some in English)

Additional Databases:

Bibliography of Native North Americans
Google Scholar
Historical Abstracts (covers the world history, except Canada and US)
JSTOR
Libris Canadiana
National Film Board of Canada
Peel's Prairie Provinces
Periodicals Archive Online
Worldcat

Dissertations

Finding and Using Primary Sources and Archives

Begin with:

Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Sources

To find Primary sources in Omni:

Search your topic or historical person of interest using Omni
A keyword search that includes one of the following terms will identify primary materials in most cases:
- Diar* (for diary OR diaries), Correspondence, Letters, Memoirs, Personal narratives, Recollections, Reminiscences, Journals or Sources

Other search tips:

Check the bibliographies and footnotes of books/journal articles on your topic to help identify primary sources.
Check the footnotes and bibliographies of theses and dissertations for primary sources.
Discover alternative sources: History Beyond the Text : A Student's Guide to Approaching Alternative Sources
Original documents can also be found by searching our archival collections, or by contacting the Archives and Special Collections (ASC) staff for help. The library has many microform collections of primary sources as well, so please ask for help.

Library and Archives Canada: key historical sources by selected topic:

CIHM (Canadian Institute for Historical Micro-reproductions)

Historical microfiche reproductions from the time of the first European settlers to the 1920s can be searched by entering relevant keywords and adding and CIHM to the search in the library's main search box, Omni.

Digital Archives

Historical Newspapers

Canadian

British

Times Digital Archive (1785-1985)
The Guardian (1821-2003)
The Observer (1791-2003)

Finding Government Information, Maps, Websites & other media

Government Information

Maps

Websites & other media

Art and War: Australia, Britain and Canada in the Second World War (Canadian War Museum)
Canada and the First World War (Canadian War Museum)
Canadian Letters and Images Project
Canadian War Poster Collection (McGill)
Canadian Wartime Propaganda (Canadian War Museum)
CBC Digital Archives
CN Images of Canada Gallery: A Canadian History (Canada Science and Technology Museum)
Japanese-Canadian Photograph Collection (University of British Columbia)
Korean War Photo Gallery
National Gallery of Canada
Northwest Rebellion Photograph Galley (University of Manitoba)
Sporting Lives: Images of Canadian Athletes
Today in Ottawa's History Blog
Workers History Museum

From January 10, only the main floor of the library is open. Access to the print collection is through curbside pickup, mail delivery, or scan on demand.