What to know
- Canadian passport prices will be going up by 2.7 per cent, in accordance with the consumer price index.
- A five-year passport will go up to $123.24 and a 10-year passport will go up to $164.32.
Passport prices are set to rise this year, and they could get even more expensive in the future.
In late January, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government adopted an order-in-council on the recommendation of the Treasury Board and the Citizenship and Immigration Minister to raise passport prices according to the consumer price index (CPI).
The latest CPI increase was set in 2024 at 2.7 per cent. This means on March 31, 2026, passport prices will increase by 2.7 per cent, amounting to an increase of roughly $4.
Statistics Canada defines the CPI as an index that “represents changes in prices as experienced by Canadian consumers.” The CPI compares over time, “the cost of a fixed basket of goods and services.”
For Canadians applying within the country, the current prices are $120 for a five-year passport, $160 for a 10 year passport, and $57 for a child’s passport.
With the price hike, a five-year passport will cost $123.24, a 10 year passport will cost $164.32, and a child’s passport will cost $58.54.
Unfortunately, these price raises are just the first step in a gradual overhaul of the passport program’s fee structure. An announcement on the Canada Gazette website by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada states, “The Passport Program’s base fee structure alone can no longer support the cost of Program operations. Since the last time inflation was accounted for in Program fees, the CPI increased by 14.5%, leading to expenditures outpacing revenues by approximately $121 million in fiscal year 2024–2025.”
The announcement also warns of a comprehensive fee structure review to account for the true cost of passport operations, the results of which will be subject to public consultation.
While the passport program undergoes review, passport prices will rise with inflation.
