by Jen Mallia
Last updated: 12:35 PM ET, Mon March 10, 2025
Crawling out of the post-pandemic passport backlog was a big job for Service Canada. Anyone who remembers the lines snaking outside passport offices and months long wait will be pleased to see how the federal government has overhauled the process, including a newly introduced 30-day guarantee.
According to the State of Service statement released on Canada.ca, while 93% of the population has access to passport services within 50 km of their homes, the government continues to evaluate how to improve services by considering the introduction of additional pickup, urgent and express services for underserved, remote and growing communities.
In 2022 to 2023, Service Canada processed 3.3 million passports. For 2023 to 2024, that number surged to 4.8 million, an increase of nearly 50%. In the 2024-25 fiscal year, it expects to process 5.4 million passports.
The statement points to the efficacy of new online tools: wait times are posted, which allows customers to go to the office of their choice for quicker service. Additionally, Canadians can book a specific time slot up to 60 days ahead of time. A digital application pilot project was rolled out in 2024 and will continue to be expanded. The State of Service release indicates that the new channel makes all passport services more efficient and will reduce costs for the program, allowing the government to reinvest in other areas such as program integrity. It will also help to reduce lineups and wait times at Service Canada locations.
Furthermore, the statement says “Digitalization validates applications in real time, preventing errors in the application while also eliminating errors due to misreading someone's handwriting. We are so confident in this approach that we will introduce a new policy that guarantees your passport will be processed within 30 business days-or it will be free.” It doesn’t say when the guarantee will be implemented.
Read more passport coverage: Power of the Canadian Passport Slips
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