Many of us take our Canadian passport for granted. The freedom of movement it allows us, rights and security beyond our borders, and greater global job opportunities are not passport benefits one thinks too much about—unless you weren’t born here, or until you need to leverage them.

In order to support new citizens in acquiring their Canadian passports, the Institute for Canadian Citizenship and Western Canadian retailer London Drugs have partnered to offer the gift of a free passport photo through the month of July at all London Drugs retail locations. Part of the Canoo program (formerly the Cultural Access Pass launched by the nonprofit Institute for Canadian Citizenship in 2008), the offer can be accessed by new citizens via the Canoo mobile app.

As Canadian as a Canoo

Canoo’s new website, which helps explain how to use and register for its mobile app, touts the program as “Canada’s Largest National Network,” providing free access to “partner experiences” across the country as well as discounted entry and access to activities that range from visiting museums to whale watching to seeing Cirque du Soleil. One thousand free tickets to the Calgary Stampede were snapped up in under two hours this year.

Prior to 2022, only new Canadian citizens were eligible for Canoo membership. Now, permanent residents who arrived in Canada within the past five years are also eligible. A pilot program to include international students “from selected colleges in Western Canada” has recently been launched

Daniel Bernhard, CEO of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, views the Canoo program as another tool not only to help welcome and include newcomers to Canada, but also to encourage an attachment to their adopted country through experiences they want to explore. “Canoo takes a very expansive view. If we want to help you enjoy Canada, then we need to be able to provide the biggest possible range of options for you to try, which may include things that you already enjoy from your life before coming to Canada, or new things that you discover once you’re here. The ideal circumstance for Canoo is that no matter where you are, no matter what you enjoy, there’s something for you to do.”

Falling numbers

Newcomers connecting meaningfully to Canada through its social, cultural, and natural landscapes in ways that Canoo facilitates is key to addressing what Bernhard describes as “severely declining” numbers in citizenship uptake. He admits that neither the Institute for Canadian Citizenship itself nor Canada can simply “just celebrate citizenship anymore” because taking the next step to Canadian citizenship is becoming “less and less of a popular choice for newcomers.” The trend is one Bernhard worries will impact the level of civic and political engagement newcomers invest in Canada: “Citizenship is akin to ownership. It’s about being a shareholder in our society. There are places like Dubai, for example, with a very large foreign born population, but they will never be citizens. I think that’s a key difference between Canada and other places. You’re not just here as a resident, you’re here as an owner. And a full and equal one at that. That is, I think, something very special about Canada that we want to stay true.”

Picture this

As one of the benefits of Canadian citizenship, acquiring a passport should have as few barriers as possible, believes Bernhard, especially as the path to permanent residence and then citizenship is costly and administratively arduous. A free passport photo is a nice bonus, and London Drugs hopes the gesture will help “enable newcomers to feel a sense of ownership and belonging in their new home.”

Having observed many new Canadians take the Oath of Citizenship, Bernhard reflects: “how wonderfully powerful, moving and even surprisingly sentimental the experience of becoming a citizen is. Then you’re going to go and get a new passport, which really makes the whole thing even more real. And here’s a company saying, we’ll help you with that. I think that’s a wonderful way to be a part of your customer’s journey at a special time. And for a new citizen to see that someone else thinks this is a big deal too, I think that’s really special.”

Photos from various “Enhanced Citizenship Ceremonies” hosted by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship