Canada's newly redesigned passport includes improved security features and images that officials say reflect Canada's diverse people and landscapes.
Families, Children and Social Development Minister Karina Gould and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Sean Fraser made the announcement in Ottawa on Wednesday.
The passport includes a new cover and designs on its inner pages, which the ministers described as highlighting Canada's natural environment over four seasons, as well as its multicultural identity.
Gould, who oversees Service Canada, which handles passport applications, said some of the new images such as polar bears, people jumping in a lake, and birds in winter capture the "spirit of who we are as Canadians."
She said the cost of a passport application will remain the same, but that the federal government plans to go through its existing stock of passports first.
The new passports will be produced this summer, with more details on when they will be rolled out expected later.
Current passports remain secure, she said, and Canadians can continue to use them until they expire.
Also starting this fall, Canadians will be able to renew and pay for their passports, as well as upload a passport photo, online.
The inside of the front cover and first page are shown, featuring a deer, maple leaves and snowflakes. (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada)
"There's no way for you to know if you're applying if you're going to get the older version or the new version," she said.
"Both are excellent, both are going to be great, but we're going to do it in a way that manages the existing inventory so that we're using taxpayers' dollars effectively."
The new security features include a polycarbonate data page, which the federal government says is the same technology used to protect currency and driver's licences, and personal information engraved using lasers instead of ink to prevent tampering and counterfeiting.
Officials said the new passports also include Kinegram technology over the main photo, a custom see-through window with a secondary image of the passport holder, a variable laser image and temperature-sensitive ink to help authenticate documents.
Asked why the new images have replaced the historic moments seen in Canada's current passports, Fraser said the designs included consultations with government departments such as Canadian Heritage, and Indigenous communities.
The personal information page is shown, which features maple leaves and other security features. (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada)
Some of the feedback, he said, included a desire to celebrate diversity, inclusion and the country's natural environment and to "bake those elements into the design."
Continually changing the designs of passports also helps from a security perspective, he said.
"When you consistently update wholesale the details from a design point of view for your passport, including the illustrations that find their way into the document, it makes it much harder to counterfeit," Fraser said.
"It can take a number of years for sophisticated participants and, sort of, criminal organizations or counterfeit operations to actually catch up to new designs, and by continuing to update wholesale ... we make it more difficult for those who seek to take advantage of Canada's travel documents."
Blank visa pages in the new passport that show bears in a forest in spring. Ultraviolet light changes the colours and reveals security features. (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada)
Blank visa pages in the new passport that show owls and children playing in winter. (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada)
Passport services have resumed after the union representing thousands of striking public servants reached a tentative deal with the federal government earlier this month.
Gould told reporters on Wednesday that 99 per cent of all passports are issued within the federal government's 10- and 20-day targets. This comes after months of lengthy passport delays last year.
Although the recent strike could lead to some longer lineups, Gould said the federal government is fully prepared for these and any processing delays.
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