Feds Unveil New Passport Designs Stripped of Historical Symbols

Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, and Marie-France Lalonde, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship unveil the new Canadian passport at the Ottawa International Airport in Ottawa on May 10, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Federal ministers Karina Gould and Sean Fraser have unveiled Canada’s new passport designs stripped of previous historical symbols featured in the previous version. They say the reasons for the changes are mostly to prevent counterfeiting and are not politically motivated.

Gould, who is minister of families, children and social development, and Fraser, who is the immigration minister, spoke to reporters about the changes at the Ottawa International Airport on May 10, after revealing the new designs during a press conference.

The newly designed passport cover has moved the Canada Coat of Arms slightly off to the side and encompassed it with half of a maple-leaf emblem.

Inside the passport, pages display generic images of nature scenes and general Canadian symbols, some of which have indigenous roots, Fraser told reporters.

The federal government began redesigning the passport in 2013, as part of what it calls a “regular process to prevent counterfeiting by integrating new and more modern security features and design techniques.”

Some new security features include a “polycarbonate data page” similar to Canadian driver’s licenses and a new characteristic allowing individuals’ personal information to be laser-engraved rather than printed with ink.

In terms of the passport’s new design, reporters noted that they no longer contain depictions of historical Canadian events on their pages, such as Terry Fox’s cross-country Marathon of Hope and the Vimy Ridge memorial in France.

The ministers said the removal of these historical depictions was not politically motivated, but done as a routine measure to make counterfeiting Canadian passports more difficult.

Fraser also said the federal government decided on the new images inside the passport after consulting with “a number of different government departments and stakeholders,” which he said included Heritage Canada and some indigenous communities.

“One of the things that we heard is that we want to celebrate our diversity and inclusion. We want to celebrate our natural environment,” he told reporters, adding that none of the feedback the government received during the consultation process found the previous historical images to be “offensive.”

‘Partisan Aspect’

Gould added that the images the government chose to replace the old historical depictions are still “fairly traditional Canadian images.”

“If you look at polar bears and people jumping into a lake and birds in the winter, I think it really captures the spirit of who we are as Canadians.”

She later added that some of the reporters’ questions were “suggesting that there is a partisan aspect” to the new design.

“I think it’s important to say that this is not partisan,” she said. “The design of this passport started 10 years ago and this is really about ensuring the security of the document.”

The coat of arms on the new passport’s cover remains unchanged despite the federal government recently introducing a new royal crown emblem to replace the St. Edward’s Crown featured in the Canada Coat of Arms and on a number of Canadian institutions’ badges, such as CSIS and the RCMP.

The new crown replaces a number of religious symbols contained in the previous crown—such as crosses and fleur-de-lis—with stylized snowflakes and maple leaves.

Gould said the crown emblem within the coat of arms on the new passport remains the same because the design was finalized before the Canadian Heraldic Authority unveiled the new crown.

Starting this fall, Canadians will be able to apply for passport renewals online by uploading the required documents and passport photo through a secure government website, said Fraser.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.