A bit of good news for workers who have to travel internationally for business — and who like to procrastinate. The federal government is introducing a new service guarantee for passport applications, pledging to process them within 30 business days or they’ll refund the fee, Minister of Citizens’ Services Terry Beech announced Friday.
The commitment, set to take effect later this year, applies to all complete passport applications submitted online, by mail or in person. The measure aims to improve service efficiency following widespread delays in recent years that left many Canadians struggling to obtain travel documents.
Beech also confirmed the national rollout of online passport renewals, allowing eligible applicants to complete the process from home. The digital service, piloted in December 2024, is part of the government’s broader effort to modernize service delivery.
“Canadians can expect to spend less time in line or waiting on hold,” Beech said. “This means you don’t need to take time off work, find childcare or pay for parking to access government services.”
The government is also expanding passport processing capabilities, with a new production and printing centre opening in Surrey, B.C., and a full-service passport office set to launch in Charlottetown, P.E.I. Since 2022, 24 Service Canada Centres have added 10-day passport service, bringing the total to 60 locations nationwide, including Iqaluit, Nunavut, and Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
Service modernization efforts
The announcements were part of the government’s first-ever State of Service report, outlining improvements across various federal programs. The report highlighted advancements in employment insurance (EI) processing, including automation that has cut call centre wait times from 18 minutes in 2022 to just four minutes.
The federal government is also streamlining Social Insurance Number (SIN) applications. The introduction of eSIN automation is expected to reduce wait times from five days to under five minutes, and a new SIN@Entry program will make it easier for newcomers to obtain SINs without visiting a Service Canada office.
The report also noted progress in the rollout of the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP), which has received over 3.8 million applications since December 2023. The program is slated to expand later this year to cover adults aged 18 to 64.
“Our government is working to make services more efficient, affordable and better suited to the needs of Canadians,” said Stéphane Lauzon, parliamentary secretary to Beech. “We are modernizing service delivery and improving the passport program to reduce wait times and costs.”
The government expects to process up to 5.74 million passport applications in the 2024–25 fiscal year. Nearly 1,000 Canadians have already completed online passport renewals since the service’s soft launch.
