(Montreal) Conservative leader Pierre Polevre shared a petition on his Twitter account asking the Liberal government “to preserve Canada’s history” in the new passport.
The new version of the passport has caused a lot of reaction since it was announced on Wednesday. The new designs inside are more generic, depicting non-specific characters working or playing in Canadian landscapes.
The passport will also feature a polycarbonate page and other new security features. In particular, an electronic chip will be inserted in a transparent window on the first page in order to better detect attempts at falsification.
But it is especially the colored drawings in the pages inside the travel document that cause some dissatisfaction.
In a video posted in English on Twitter on Saturday evening, Pierre Poilievre argues that important icons of Canadian history such as Terry Fox, Nellie McClung and Canada’s National Vimy Memorial are missing from the new passport. He asserts that this document is an important reflection of our national identity and that these heroic figures should find their way there.
In his video, Mr. Poilievre did not miss the opportunity to repeatedly skin Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“Our national history in this passport now looks more like Justin Trudeau’s personal coloring book, filled with insignificant little things like Canadians raking leaves or a squirrel eating a nut,” Poilievre said in his recording before the National War Memorial, Ottawa.
On Thursday, during question period in the House of Commons, Mr. Poilievre also promised that if he became Prime Minister he would bring back a Canadian passport containing historical references, in particular the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the athlete Terry Fox.
The Canadian passport was last updated ten years ago.
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said this week that the changes were made taking into consideration feedback from Canadians. He said that in the context of the consultation process he had noted a desire to continue to emphasize diversity, the environment and life experiences in Canadian territories.