Primary Sources
This guide will provide more information about finding primary sources appropriate for your discipline and area of research.
Government Resources
Government resources are often needed for research in business, anthropology, political science, and science-related disciplines. The following websites and databases, broken down by geographic region, are excellent starting points for your research. These primarily provide data and statistics, which are typically the most common government resources used in academic research.
For more research assistance, see the Canadian Studies or Government Info guides.
- The Canada GazetteOften referred to as "the official newspaper of the Government of Canada," the Canada Gazette has been an important instrument in the Canadian democratic process for more than 160 years. The database comprises images taken from microfilm, microfiche and rare original copies of the Gazette held by Library and Archives Canada.
- Canadian Intellectual Property OfficeThis database lets you access 149 years of patent descriptions and images. You can search, retrieve and study more than 2,330,000 patent documents.
- Historical Statistics of Canada - Archived, Statistics CanadaThis contains about 1,088 statistical tables on the social, economic and institutional conditions of Canada from the start of Confederation in 1867 to the mid-1970s.
- Indigenous Documentary Heritage InitiativesFrom Library and Archives Canada: The first initiative is a documentary heritage digitization project that will focus on increasing online access to LAC’s holdings that contain First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Nation related content, including government records, private archival records, and published works.
- LEGISinfoThis website provides electronic access to a wide range of information about individual bills.
- Parliament of Canada: DebatesThis covers debates from February 2, 1996 to present.
- Parliament of Canada: Historical Parliamentary DebatesThis covers debates from January 17, 1994 to February 2, 1996.
- ParlVUThis website has audio/visual recordings of recent sessions of Parliament.
- Senate of CanadaThis website contains works, debates and legislation from the Senate of Canada.
- Libraries and Archives Canada- Collection SearchCanada's national collection of books, historical documents, government records, photos, films, maps, music... and more.
- About Searching Collections - Libraries and Archives CanadaThis guide will walk you through a variety of FAQ's about searching collections on Libraries and Archives Canada such as: What is a Collection Search? What will I find? and what information will be yielded under each search tab.
- Libraries and Archives Canada Collection SearchLibraries and Archives Canada is currently in the process of updating their website and search functions. Some of these links may therefore expire in the coming months. Please take a look at the following document that guides users through searching the collection for primary source material
Databases:
- Canadian Research Index This link opens in a new windowThis database provides access to Canadian government publications at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels. It includes policy papers, scientific and technical reports, statistical reports, annual reports, etc.
- HeinOnline This link opens in a new windowThis database offers the full text of materials such as legal journals and monographs, government documents, international laws and treaties.
- Alberta Legislative Assembly: Assembly documents and recordsThis website contains Hansard (House Transcripts), Journals, Votes and Proceedings, Order Papers, House Records, Committee Transcripts, Standing Orders, and Petition Guidelines from the Alberta Legislative Assembly.
- Alberta Office of Statistics and InformationThe following statistics may be accessed here: economic, population, social and community, geographic and geospatial.
- Calgary Police Service Statistical ReportsThese reports provide statistics on person and property crimes, disorder, traffic, LRT, domestic conflict, drugs, hate/bias crime, weapons, youth, centre city and gang related crime in Calgary.
- City of Calgary Civic Census ResultsThe Civic Census is the official count of dwelling units and the population who are living in these units, by the door to door physical collection and recording of data. This count of dwellings and residents may be supplemented yearly with other information such as the periodic age/gender distribution data, etc. This additional data is pertinent to the use and interpretation of the population statistics.
- City of Calgary Community ProfilesCommunity profiles enable citizens and others to learn more about each of Calgary’s unique communities. There are two profiles for each community: Part A – Demographics, and Part B – Community Character.
- City of Calgary Map GalleryContains a number of contemporary maps, as well as some historical ones directly related to the City of Calgary.
- Government of AlbertaThis website may be utilized to access government departments, services, industries, legislation, etc.
- Government of Alberta: Open DataThis website may be used to search a listing of Government of Alberta open datasets.
- Municipal Bylaws This link opens in a new windowA database containing archived municipal bylaws (Alberta).
- Open CalgaryThe Open Data Portal includes datasets from various business units and departments. These data sets are available in multiple file formats and anyone can download the data sets at no charge. The data can be used for any purpose subject to Open Calgary terms of use.
- American state papers, 1789-1838 This link opens in a new windowFind resources such as legislative and executive documents of the first 14 U.S. Congresses, the essential record of the first decades of the United States, and extensive coverage of the major events that helped to shape the Early Republic.
- Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History and DiplomacyCreated by the Yale Law Library, this website features primary source documents from all over the world in law, history, and government from the eighteenth through twentieth centuries.
- HeinOnline This link opens in a new windowThis database offers the full text of materials such as legal journals and monographs, government documents, international laws and treaties.
- Population Reference BureauAccess featured indicators, U.S. and international data resources, and the World Population Data Sheet website.
- United States Census BureauCollects data including the Decennial Census of Population and Housing, Economic Census, Census of Governments, and the American Community Survey.
- United States Patent and Trademark OfficeThe United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is the federal agency for granting U.S. patents and registering trademarks.
- U.S. Presidential Library This link opens in a new windowSearchable database which contains the most comprehensive presidential collection in a digital format which includes United States presidential messages and papers, and various documents about the presidents and laws of the United States.
- English Historical Documents This link opens in a new windowEnglish Historical Documents Online contains over 5,500 expertly indexed and fully searchable primary documents from 500-1914.
- HeinOnline This link opens in a new windowThis database offers the full text of materials such as legal journals and monographs, government documents, international laws and treaties.
- Population Reference BureauAccess featured indicators, U.S. and international data resources, and the World Population Data Sheet website.
- U.K. Parliamentary Papers This link opens in a new windowThis database contains House of Commons sessional papers from 1715 to the present, Debates (Hansard), sessional papers, bills, house papers, and committee reports.