Feds under fire for passport redesign, Legion calls it 'a poor decision' to replace iconic images

Noticeably absent from Canada's just-revealed passport redesign are certain images, a move that has some accusing the federal government of attempting to "erase" the country's history.

The former passport design features images of the Fathers of Confederation, the Vimy Ridge Memorial in France and athlete and activist Terry Fox, but these nods to Canada's past will not be featured in the new passport, according to officials.

The new design, revealed Wednesday morning, features symbols the government says it hopes will reflect Canadian life, including more images of nature.

But the changes have provoked criticism.

In a statement, the Royal Canadian Legion said it is “disappointed by the decision to remove an image that signifies the sacrifices made for the very sort of freedom the passport provides.”

“The Vimy Memorial was a fundamental image, also representing a defining moment in Canada, a country emerging as an independent nation with limitless potential,” the Legion said. “Removing that image in the context of a design change and without knowing the rationale was, to put it bluntly, a poor decision.”

Brad West, the mayor of Terry Fox’s hometown of Port Coquitlam, B.C., expressed similar disappointment about the redesign’s removal of historical images, saying Canadians need “more Terry Fox, not less.”

"My thought is that whoever made this decision needs to give their head a shake,” West said in an interview with CTV National News' Glen McGregor on Wednesday.

“Across this country, Terry Fox inspired and continues to inspire millions of Canadians. And millions of people around the world. And so we need more Terry Fox not less Terry Fox. And I just think this is a really bad decision. It should be addressed. It should be reversed.”

Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Official Opposition of Canada, fired questions about the deletion of history in the House of Commons Wednesday, saying, “They erased Vimy Ridge to put in an image of a squirrel eating a nut. They erased Terry Fox, a guy who ran halfway across the country to fight cancer to put in a man raking leaves. And they erased Quebec City in order to put in what appears to be an image of a boyhood prime minister swimming at Harrington Lake. Could this prime minister be any more out of touch with Canadians?”

When asked why prior historical images were not included in the redesign, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Sean Fraser, who announced the changes in Ottawa on Wednesday, explained that the designs were based on consultations with government departments, such Canadian Heritage and Indigenous communities.

Families, Children and Social Development Minister Karina Gould, who helped announce the changes, and who oversees Service Canada, said that the redesign – including images of polar bears, people jumping in a lake, and birds in winter – capture the “spirit of who we are as Canadians.”

With files from CTV National News Senior Political Correspondent Glen McGregor