Canada's passport application backlog has been 'virtually eliminated' minister says
Canada’s passport application backlog has been "virtually eliminated," the minister responsible announced Tuesday.
After months of delays, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Karina Gould said that the federal government moved “heaven and earth” in the last year to fix the system and speed up processing times. Now, wait times for Canadians to receive their passports are back to pre-pandemic standards.
"Approximately 98 per cent of the backlog of applications have been processed, the backlog is virtually eliminated," Gould told reporters during a federal cabinet retreat in Hamilton, Ont.
This comes, Gould said, as a result of increasing passport offices' "processing capacity" and "streamlined operations" by nearly doubling its workforce and racking up thousands of hours of overtime.
As Canada's COVID-19 travel restrictions eased, the country saw a travel surge and an influx in demand for new passports. As a result, months-long passport processing delays led to cancelled plans and travel headaches for some, while others found themselves camping out in long lineups at Service Canada offices this summer as they tried to beat the rush in applying for, renewing, or picking up the key piece of travel documentation.
The delays led to criticism and questioning of the federal government’s ability to deliver services to Canadians.
On Tuesday, Gould said that as the process stands, those who submitted their passport applications after Oct. 3, 2022, have seen pre-pandemic processing times, while extra staff continues to tackle the smaller number of outstanding “complex” applications left over from the months prior due to issues such as eligibility, security, or child custody.
For those who applied before Oct. 3, the wait time to receive their passport still varies, but clients can now have their application expedited without having to show proof of imminent travel.
"Canadians can have confidence that they should be able to get their passport on time, so long as everything is correct with their application," Gould said Tuesday, after apologizing once again for the “difficult situation,” and thanking Canadians for their “admirable patience.”
Gould said going forward, ESDC will retain the extra staff it brought on to tackle the surge in applications “for the foreseeable future,” because she expects the number of applicants will remain high, with the government expecting to process more than 3.5 million passports this year. For example, the first passports issued with a 10-year expiry date will be up for renewal in July.
“We know that we need to have this increased capacity based on kind of those natural cycles of when passport applications are made,” said the minister. “What we're anticipating particularly for this summer is a higher level of renewals, and those are much simpler to do.”
Because the passport program is largely funded by Canadians’ passport fees, the increased staffing to keep up with demand isn’t amounting to much of a bill for the federal government, Gould said.
While the system seems to be back up to speed, noting that there will continue to be “seasonal peaks” that result in lineups at passport offices, Gould is encouraging Canadians to ensure their passports are still valid ahead of upcoming travel, and if not, ensure they submit their applications early to avoid any issues.
Reacting to the news, NDP MP and transport critic Taylor Bachrach slammed Gould’s “victory lap” as not adequately acknowledging the “significant personal cost” many Canadians faced as a result of the government’s handling of the passport backlog.
“Since last spring, many Canadian travellers were forced to travel hours from home, wait hours in lines, and face months-long delays to get their passports. For many, this meant missing important trips,” Bachrach said. “The Liberal government failed to adequately anticipate the resurgence of travel demand, and as a result its ministers were caught flat-footed.”
IN DEPTH
Trudeau, key election players to testify at foreign interference hearings. What you need to know
The public hearings portion of the federal inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian elections and democratic institutions are picking back up this week. Here's what you need to know.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Who is supporting, opposing new online harms bill?
Now that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's sweeping online harms legislation is before Parliament, allowing key stakeholders, major platforms, and Canadians with direct personal experience with abuse to dig in and see what's being proposed, reaction is streaming in. CTVNews.ca has rounded up reaction, and here's how Bill C-63 is going over.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
TREND LINE What Nanos' tracking tells us about Canadians' mood, party preference heading into 2024
Heading into a new year, Canadians aren't feeling overly optimistic about the direction the country is heading, with the number of voters indicating negative views about the federal government's performance at the highest in a decade, national tracking from Nanos Research shows.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
opinion Don Martin: Pierre Poilievre's road to apparent victory will soon start to get rougher
Pierre Poilievre and his Conservatives appear to be on cruise control to a rendezvous with the leader's prime ministerial ambition, but in his latest column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin questions whether the Conservative leader may be peaking too soon.
opinion Don Martin: The Trudeau lessons from Brian Mulroney's legacy start with walking away
Justin Trudeau should pay very close attention to the legacy treatment afforded former prime minister Brian Mulroney, who died on Thursday at age 84, writes columnist Don Martin.
opinion Don Martin: ArriveCan debacle may be even worse than we know from auditor's report
It's been 22 years since a former auditor general blasted the Chretien government after it 'broke just about every rule in the book' in handing out private sector contracts in the sponsorship scandal. In his column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin says the book has been broken anew with everything that went on behind the scenes of the 'dreaded' ArriveCan app.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.
Local Spotlight
A tiny critter who could: Elusive Newfoundland Marten makes improbable comeback
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
Ontario man loses $12K to deepfake scam involving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Record-setting pop tab collection for Ontario boy
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
'I was just like, holy cow!': Saskatoon dumpster divers reclaim wasted valuables
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.
Ontario to balance budget ahead of 2026 election, citing delay due to 'economic uncertainty'
Ontario is facing a larger than anticipated deficit but the Doug Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next provincial election.
Business owner disappointed in police efforts to locate $500K worth of stolen e-bikes
The owner of an e-bike business says he has doubts police will find the roughly $500,000 worth of product that was stolen from a shipping container last week, while police say he “complicated” their investigation by posting video of the theft.
Costco begins using verification scanners at some Ottawa stores
At least one Costco store in Ottawa has implemented a digital card scanner for member entry, a departure from the traditional in-person card check, in an effort to crack-down on shoppers who have not paid a membership fee.
How to safely view the solar eclipse using household materials
With the solar eclipse just a week away, it’s time to think about how to safely view the celestial show.
Calgary's Tegan and Sara call out Alberta government at Junos
Calgary singer-songwriters Tegan and Sara were honoured at this year's Juno Awards for their efforts to support 2SLGBTQ+ youth.