Service Canada has “virtually eliminated” the passport application backlog, which peaked at over 250,000 applications in August 2022, says Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Karina Gould.
Most of the new passport applications causing the backlog were being processed on time as early as October, but thousands of other applicants who had applied beforehand were still experiencing lengthy delays.
Gould said on Jan. 24 from the Liberal cabinet’s retreat in Hamilton, Ont., that 98 percent of those applications have now been processed.
The minister added that she expects another wave of passport applications to occur in the next few years because the first Canadian passports issued with 10-year expiry dates will be due for renewal come July 2023….