Canadians may be ashamed to discover that a global passport index placed Canada on the “Top 5 losers list.”
The rankings by Henley & Partners were released on Wednesday, highlighting the most and least powerful passports in 2025.
The index evaluates the strength of passports based on the number of destinations their holders can access without a visa.
Canada’s ranking peaked at second place in 2014, the year before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took office. In 2025, Canada ranked in 7th place. However, the overall rankings are skewed, considering Canada ranked worse than 22 countries, many of which are tied for their placing.
The countries in seventh place, Canada, Malta, and Poland, each had access to 188 destinations.
Despite the many ties, first and second place stood alone. The country in first place, Singapore, had visa-free access to 195 out of 227 destinations worldwide, followed by Japan at 193 visa-free destinations.
European countries largely dominated the top rankings and their ties.
Last place was also anchored by a lone wolf, Afghanistan, which had visa-free access to a mere 26 destinations.
A press release from the company that issues the index revealed that Afghanistan lost access to two destinations since last year.
“This 169-destination gap between Afghanistan and Singapore represents the largest mobility disparity in the index’s 19-year history,” reads the release.
Only 22 of 199 passports have fallen in the index’s ranking over the last decade. The worst among them is Venezuela, followed by the United States, Vanuatu, and Britain, with Canada coming in as fifth worst.
Conversely, China saw one of the biggest rises, climbing from 94th place in 2015 to 60th in 2025. It gained access to an additional 29 countries over the past year.
While not a relevant variable for the index, Canadians have had their fair share of issues with passports.
For example, despite some offices experiencing nearly seven-hour delays, Service Canada previously suspended hundreds of employees under the vaccine mandate.
Additionally, a Canadian passport was issued by the Liberals to a convicted human smuggler despite him being linked to the deaths of nine people, having his travel documents revoked, and being banned from applying for a new passport.
