Where will I find the passenger list of someone who emigrated to Canada?

The basic rule of thumb is that, for the period prior to 1890, expect the passenger list to have gone with the passenger and ended up in the port of arrival. This means that you should not expect to find a passenger list for an outgoing ship in Scotland and you ought to check sources in Canada first.

First, you may be lucky enough to find a record of your ancestor in published passenger lists (which account for about 1% of emigrants to North America).

Next try Library and Archives Canada, who hold passenger manifests from 1865 (and some earlier records). For further details consult <https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/immigration-records/passenger-lists/Pages/introduction.aspx> [accessed 26 April 2024].

The UK National Archives in London holds passenger lists for vessels leaving the UK between 1890 and 1960 (among the records of the Board of Trade). For further details consult the Discovery website. <https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/> [accessed 26 April 2024].

If your ancestor emigrated from Lewis or Harris to Manitoba in the period 1888-1889, it may be worth searching the records of a state-aided scheme, which survive in the records of the Agriculture and Fisheries Department records (AF51), held in the National Records of Scotland. These record various details of each applicant and members of his or her household. The records are not indexed.