Land Records - British Columbia
British Columbia controlled most of its own land upon entering confederation. The practice of Pre-emption, which occurred between 1859 until 1970, was a method of acquiring provincial Crown land by claiming it for settlement and agricultural purposes. Certain areas of British Columbia were excluded from this and the areas were known as the “railway belt”. These lands were controlled by the Federal Government, and homesteading was made possible through Western Land Grants, 1870-1930.
Online
The BC Archives holds the print records for provincial crown land grants, applications for homesteads, and purchases of crown lands. They have shared these resources with FamilySearch.org and they are available for browsing.
In most cases you either must know the specific location, grant number or year to narrow down your search for information. Below is a list of collections available at FamilySearch.org.
- “British Columbia Crown Land Grants Records 1851-1874” - by location
- “British Columbia Crown Land Grants 1869-1930” – by year or volume number (vol)
- “British Columbia Crown Land Pre-Emption Registers 1860-1971” – by location
- “British Columbia Dominion Land Branch Records 1885-1949”
The government of British Columbia has an online resource, searchable by name, known as “GATOR”: If your grant is found you can find 2 documents related to it: a type of contract explaining the conditions of ownership, and a map which shows the legal description of the land. Free access.
Western Land Grants can be searched through the online database at Library and Archives Canada. If you find a record, click on the item number, then note the microfilm number and the Liber (page) number. You can view the next document on Canadiana Heritage. Search for the microfilm reel in the search box, then view the reel digitally and find your page number.
The Land Title and Survey Authority of BC (LTSA) has land records of various types dating from the earliest days of BC’s settlement
Please refer to our Indigenous/Métis genealogy research guide for information about Métis land records.