Brampton in-person passport pickups now available at Service Canada Centre

After months of delays and overnight line ups at the passport office, Service Canada has expanded in-person passport pickup to Brampton.

Passport offices across the GTA, including in Brampton and Mississauga, have been mobbed in recent weeks following the lifting of COVID-19 air travel restrictions.

The demand for new passports and renewals led to lengthy wait times, with Brampton residents and politicians calling for change after a video showing people lined up overnight at a passports office began making the rounds online last month.

Now, Service Canada has expanded in-person passport pickup to both the Brampton and Whitby Service Canada Centres, as well as three other locations in Alberta, B.C. and Quebec.

RELATED: Brampton passport office ‘chaos’ has people lined up overnight

Karina Gould, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, said the expansion will allow Canadians who need to pick up their passports in person to do so closer to home instead of travelling to another office in their area.

“Opening these new pick-up locations will also help reduce lineups at other offices in bigger cities,” Gould said in a release.

The Brampton Passport Office is located at 40 Gillingham Dr., while the Service Canada Centre is nearby at 60 Gillingham Dr.

Passport backlogs have been impacting Canadians’ travel plans, including a Mississauga woman who was delayed from seeing her ill mother in India.

The only location in Canada that does not offer pickup service is the Hamilton East passport office, however pickup services are available at the Hamilton Mountain passport office.

Ottawa created a special task force to help reduce major delays and lengthy lineups for people in Mississauga and across the country who are trying to get new passports or renew their existing travel documents.

Gould said Service Canada is exploring solutions to improve service, including new technology to keep Canadians informed on the status of their passport applications.

“We are tackling this challenge through hard work, innovation and dedication, and I am confident we will continue to make meaningful progress,” she said.

Since April 1, the federal government says Service Canada issued 605,440 passports. During the week of July 11 to 17 alone, staff worked more than 7,000 hours of overtime.

To find a Service Canada Passport Centre near you visit www.ServiceCanada.gc.ca.