Service Canada continues to introduce a variety of new measures to improve passport service delivery and decrease wait times for Canadians as it works through unprecedented demands. The triage system introduced this summer in 17 of our 35 passport offices has made a significant impact in reducing lineups and redirecting Canadians to the appropriate means to access service. The average wait time at call centres has also improved, going from a peak of 108 minutes in April to 27 minutes last week.
Today, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, Randy Boissonnault, announced the designation of the Red Deer Service Canada Centre as an additional passport pick-up location. Effective immediately, Canadians can now apply for and pick up their passport at the Service Canada Centre in Red Deer. In addition, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Karina Gould, announced three other passport pick-up locations across the country, including:
In addition to the existing passport offices offering pick-up service, Canadians can now both apply and request in-person pick-up of their passport at these four Service Canada Centres. Unlike the regular Service Canada Centres, these four locations offer 10-day service, which means that Canadians can apply for a passport in one of those four locations and the passport will be available after 10 business days, either by mail or in person pick-up. If Canadians need their passport in less than 10 business days, they will need to visit a passport office that offers Express or Urgent pick-up service.
The expansion of pick-up sites will allow many Canadians who need to pick up passports to do so closer to their homes. Service Canada is fully committed to providing passport services within 50km of the home of Canadians. Also, more scheduled outreach sites that will provide certain passport services will be added in the coming weeks across the country.
