Canadian passports will soon be free if this happens [Video]

The federal government says it’s going to implement a new 30-business-day guarantee for passports.

That means Ottawa promises to either process a passport application within 30 business days or refund the fee.

Citizens’ Services Minister Terry Beech says that change is coming this year, along with an online renewal option that will launch in the summer.

Service Canada launched a pilot project for online passport renewals in December.

The Liberal government first promised online renewals in May 2023 and it was initially set to launch that fall.

The change was announced after the COVID-19 pandemic led to a huge backlog of passport applications that Service Canada struggled to handle.

Backlogs began in 2022, when people started to travel abroad again in large numbers.

Thousands of Canadians who had let their passports expire during the pandemic lined up to get them renewed, and Service Canada was also dealing with a shortage …