Six things to know about Canada’s new passport

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On Wednesday, the federal government revealed its new-look Canadian passport. This came just a week after reaching an agreement with its public servants responsible for approving and administering the passport. Those workers had been on strike for 10 days.

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Here are some things to know about the passport:

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Goodbye Vimy Ridge

As quickly noted by the Royal Canadian Legion, the new passport no longer has an image of the Vimy Ridge Memorial on an inside page, marking the Battle of Vimy Ridge in France in April of 1917.

Instead, the new passport’s visa pages depict sketches of Canada throughout the seasons, such as birds at a feeder, an Indigenous kayaker, narwhals with golden tusks breaching the water and a man raking leaves into a wheelbarrow in front of a home.

Goodbye Terry Fox

As noted by Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West, the new passport has also ditched the iconic image of Terry Fox on his run for the cure.

“Whoever made the decision to remove Terry Fox from Canadian passports needs to give their head a shake. Our country needs more Terry Fox, not less,” West said on Twitter.

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Online renewal applications available

Canadians will finally be able to skip the line at Service Canada offices and apply online for the new document come the fall.

Passport features several advanced security features

Beyond the new images, the single biggest change is to the document’s data page that features the owner’s picture and personal information.

The new page is made out of polycarbonate thermoplastic on which an owner’s data is laser-engraved (instead of printed with ink) with a new proprietary font. That allows the designers to also emboss certain characters on the page for an added layer of security.

Distribution starts this summer

The new passports will be available in the summer, but don’t delay in your application as there is likely to be a backlog, given passport office workers were on strike.

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This is the first redesign since 2013 and the new passports will have 37 pages.

The coolest thing

The data page features a new heat-sensitive red maple leaf emblem that should disappear when covered by a finger.

dcarrigg@postmedia.com

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