GATINEAU, QC — Great news for Canadian travellers: passport delivery has returned to pre-pandemic processing times.
Service Canada has confirmed that there are currently no backlogs and that it’s exceeding its delivery standard for most applications.
While there was a minor impact on passport processing during the public service labour disruption earlier in the spring, all service delays were quickly resolved. Service Canada is back to delivering nearly all passports within the 10- and 20-day targets, respectively, with approximately 98% of passports issued within service standards, regardless of intake method.
On June 21, the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Karina Gould, announced that seven new 10-day passport service sites across Canada are now in operation, namely:
- Prince George, British Columbia
- Lac-Mégantic, Quebec
- Gaspé, Quebec
- Saint-Georges, Quebec
- Timmins, Ontario
- Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec
- Dryden , Ontario
With the upgrading of these sites, Service Canada now has 20 Service Canada Centres across the country where Canadians can apply for a passport and receive it by mail in 10 business days (mail time not included). Canadians who require their passport in less than 10 business days must visit a passport office that offers express or urgent pick-up service and pay for expedited services.
Additionally, for the past several months, Canadians have been able to get real-time updates, 24-hours a day, on the processing of their applications through the online Passport Application Status Checker, which has led to shorter wait times when contacting the Passport Call Centre. Since the launch of the service on March 21, 2023, there have been over 702,000 visits to the online status checker website. To have access to this tool, Canadians must include an email address on their application.
“Service Canada has continued to work to improve service quality, accessibility and timeliness of the Passport Program,” said Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Karina Gould. “By eliminating the backlog, offering 10-day service at additional locations, creating an online status checker and rolling out online passport renewal services, Service Canada is making it even easier for Canadians to get their passports when they need them. We will continue to take important steps to modernize the passport system and provide the service Canadians deserve.”
The pandemic caused a nearly two-year lull in passport applications, but once people began to travel again in 2022, the demand for new passports grew dramatically. That surge led to long lines and longer waits for travel documents.
From April 2022 to March 2023, the Government of Canada issued 3,346,223 passports. For the 2023-24 fiscal year, between 4.3 and 4.9 million passports are forecast to be issued. Since April 1, 2023, 745,401 passports have been issued.
Passport Program statistics are published online, and all data is updated weekly.
