Canada’s 2026 federal budget proposes C$4.3 million over four years for Transport Canada to develop a Traveller Biometrics Strategy, along with C$90 million to expand fingerprint and facial image screening of people coming to the country.
The strategy is intended to make air travel faster and simpler, “including through the potential use of digital credentials that can help travellers move through airports and other points of entry more efficiently,” the budget says. It would bring together airports, airlines, security screening and border services, “while protecting privacy, personal information, accessibility, cybersecurity, and individual choice.” A Special Advisor on Traveller Biometrics will be appointed to lead the work and coordinate implementation across industry and government.
The immigration funding would go to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada over the four years starting in 2027-28, with C$22 million in projected revenues to offset it. It includes a new requirement for visa-exempt travelers applying for an electronic Travel Authorization, the online authorization needed before flying to Canada, to submit a facial image remotely to verify their identity and reduce fraud.
The budget also proposes C$192.5 million over four years starting in 2027-28, and C$42.5 million a year after that, for the Canada Border Services Agency to modernize and stabilize critical border technology infrastructure. Elsewhere, in its plans for the payments system, the government says it will develop a pilot project for voluntary digital credentials in financial services to support innovation and help combat identity fraud, with the Canadian Digital Service working with the Department of Finance.
The Canadian Airports Council said airports and their partners “have advocated for this and run successful pilots, and are prepared to move quickly.” Toronto Pearson, for one, has been testing four facial verification e-gates with Air Canada. The council also welcomed the special advisor and the border agency funding, which it called critical to moving the strategy forward.
“We are pleased to see progress from government on prioritizing and funding the digitization of the traveller journey, including the use of biometrics, which has real potential to improve a passenger’s experience at the airport,” said Monette Pasher, the council’s president.
The biometrics strategy forms part of a wider set of air sector measures in the budget, which also proposes long-term operating concessions for Canada’s four largest airports, including funding to prepare a competitive process to select private operators.
Sources: Budget 2026, Canadian Airports Council
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
