Canada. Lands Patent Branch

Secondary Agency

Canada. Lands Patent Branch

• Lands Patent Branch
• Lands Patent Division

1881-1930

The Lands Patent Branch was originally established in 1881 to maintain the records produced in the land patenting process and to process land applications from institutions. It was originally administered from a central office in Ottawa, but an office was later opened in Winnipeg and local field staff assumed many of the lands patent duties. In 1883, the Lands Patent Branch took over the full functions of a land registry office in relation to federally-controlled western lands. Previously, many of these duties had been administered by the Office of the Registrar General of Canada, part of the Department of the Secretary of State of Canada. In 1928, the name of the agency was changed to Lands Patent Division. In 1930, the Lands Patent Division was dissolved when the provinces took over the responsibility for all unconveyed lands.

The Lands Patent Branch was created in 1881 to record and preserve all documentary evidence produced in the land patenting process, and to take and process land applications from those institutions which did not apply for land grants at the local Dominion Lands Agencies, namely churches, schools, charitable organizations, railways, and provincial roads departments. By 1883, their mandate expanded to encompass the full functions of a land registry office in relation to federally-controlled western lands.

Order-in-Council, P.C. 2489, 7-10 December 1883

GA 5

Rules for Archival Description (RAD)

Final

Authority record created on 2008-03-05. Approved 2012-01-24. Last modified on 2017-11-29.

National Archives of Canada ArchiviaNet, Lands Patent Branch administrative history, R190-0-3-E.
The Records of the Department of the Interior and Research Concerning Canada's Western Frontier of Settlement by Irene M. Spry and Bennett McCardle.
Annual Report, Dept. of the Interior, 1924-1925.
AMICUS Authorities - no entry found.