Getting a Passport

Get a passport! Get it now! Get it well before you travel. Even if you are not planning a trip now, get a passport so you will be prepared to travel at a moment's notice.
Applying for a passport is easier than ever, and the wait time is tolerable. Use the internet to visit the passport office at http://www.passport.gc.ca where you can fill in on-line forms and locate the nearest office. This is a great time-saver no matter how you end up applying.
Right now the processing time is six weeks for applications sent by mail or courier or dropped at service centres; but only two weeks if you hand in the application at one of the 32 passport offices across Canada. Ontario has 13 such offices, and BC four.
The cost of a passport is $86 for basic service in person or by courier. If you want to speed the processing, you can pay an extra $30 for 2-9 day services. If you are desperate, and can prove an imminent flight out of Canada, you can get a passport in 24 hours by paying an extra $70.
If you have lots of time, but do not want to stand in line in a passport office, you can always visit one of the many federal government 'Service Canada Centres' or to a Canada Post office authorized to accept passports. There are many more of these offices in Canada, and the wait is usually shorter. Just look under Services Locations on the passport website.
To make it all work to your advantage, remember to have all of your forms and ID cards and birth certificate with you when you apply. These will all be reviewed at the counter. Failure to have even one required document will end the application right there.
In short, a Canadian passport is a valuable and useful document, and it costs only $86. You can get it in two weeks if you visit a passport office, or six weeks through a service centre. So act now, and avoid the rush coming in the summer.