Canada's Long Passport Wait Times Are Improving & You Should Consider Applying Soon

If you've been holding off on applying for or renewing your Canadian passport to avoid long wait times, now may be the moment to do it.

The federal minister responsible for passports in Canada said that Service Canada issued more than 71,000 passports last week and had "exceeded the service standard."

Karina Gould, the minister of Families, Children and Social Development, said in a tweet on Tuesday that nearly all new applications made at a passport office were delivered within 10 business days.

"[Ninety-four percent] of new applications through mail or a Service Canada were delivered within 20 business days," she said.

Last year, Canadians all over the country were experiencing long wait times at passport offices amid a resurging interest in travel.

Reports described people waiting in line for hours at in-person locations and queuing as early as 4 a.m., in order to get an appointment at their local office.

In April, wait times for passports to be processed reached up to 25 days. At the time, the federal government simplified the passport application process to speed up renewals.

"Over the past year, Service Canada employees have been working around the clock to deliver passports to Canadians," Gould said in a follow-up tweet.

"We have introduced new measures to meet the increased demands for passport services."

The new measures introduced last year included an "enhance triage system" that prioritized people with urgent travel needs.

They also included a new feature on the government's website that allows people to see the estimated wait times at Service Canada passport offices across the country.

On Wednesday, CTV News reported that the passport office experience was "much smoother" in Ottawa this week.

"We will continue to adapt to challenges as we work hard to deliver efficient services to all Canadians," Gould said.

The minister advised any Canadians who have been waiting beyond service times, and who have upcoming travel, to contact Service Canada and request a transfer of their application.